Cloud Nine Toys In Sudbury Closing After 40 Years
SUDBURY (CBS) - For 40 years, Charles and Laura Brauer have run Cloud Nine Toys.
"We've been coming to the toy store for 40 years almost every day of our lives," said Laura.
"This place is like home. I just like to come here. I look forward to who walks in the door and what the experience is going to be," said Charles.
This holiday season will be their last at the Sudbury toy store, as they retire after decades of bringing joy to the community.
"I've had kids come in, and now they're adults. And they bring their kids in and they tell me they shopped here," said Charles.
"Well, you look around it is one of the last privately owned toy stores around and it's kind of a shame," said customer Elizabeth Hastings of Weston.
"I do a lot of online shopping around the holidays, but nothing replaces getting to come in and touch the toys," said customer Christine Hannan of Hudson.
The Brauer's say over the years there would be lines out the door for certain items, like Beanie Babies. But they tell us now things are different, as kids gravitate towards technology and video games.
"People would go crazy for every type of fad. And now a lot of kids have their iPads and iPhones and video games so they're not as 'I have to have something' like all of the kids were way back when," said Laura.
As they've done for so many years, the Brauer's will continue to sell products that encourage time spent with family, conversations, and hands on learning, until they close the doors for good. They don't have an exact closing date yet but say it will be sometime after the holiday toy rush.
"Toys always made people smile and it was lots of fun. I will definitely miss seeing all the faces and talking to all the different types of people," said Laura.
Cloud Nine Toys is located at 337 Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA.
