Toy Store Damaged In Dallas Tornado To Reopen At New, Temporary Location Friday
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — A beloved North Dallas toy store has been forced to keep its doors locked ever since tornadoes swept through the city on Oct. 20. But, with creativity and a lot of extra hands, The Toy Maven will open tomorrow in a temporary location.
The tornado devastated the store, destroying the building and 50-60% of owner Candace Williams' inventory.
"It's a severe blow," Williams said. "It's disappointing because we had just really aggressively stocked up to have all the best toys."
She's also lost nearly three weeks of business coming into the prime shopping season. But, thanks to a vacant real estate office one mile away, they're planning to reopen Friday afternoon.
"It's the holiday season. Hanukkah's coming. Santa's coming, and we've just got to be there to help," Williams said.
And it's taken a lot of help to make it happen.
"I left after 7 p.m. last night and got in early this morning, and it was like Santa's elves had been here for a few more hours last night, because a lot had been done after I left," merchandise buyer Cathy Wood said.
Williams said she also didn't want to let down her customer base that shops locally.
"It's real important that we maintain service for our communities and not train them to go online," she said.
While the new digs are spacious, she said Preston Royal will always be home.
"Our heart's at Preston Royal Village. I've been there since 2005, so I would never not go back," Williams said.
Although the building will have to be scraped because of the extent of the damage, she hopes to be reopen at the original location in February.