Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

New York's ToyWiz Collectibles Pares Down Hours Instead of Closing

Four days ago, the owners of comic store Toy Wiz Collectibles of Nanuet, New York posted to Facebook that their store was closing,

I'm afraid I have some very bad news. I know this is very sudden, and may seem like it can't actually be happening, but it is. The ownership of ToyWiz has had an unfortunate family emergency come up, of which I cannot go into the details, and as a result, the ToyWiz retail store will be permanently closing. Please be aware that this only applies to the physical retail store. ToyWiz.com will still be up and running and will not be going away at all. They will still be available for online ordering of toys, games, and everything else.

Our last day open will be Saturday, May 25. Like I said, this is sudden and happening very quickly. I want to thank all of you for the support you've given the store over the years. It has been my absolute honor to have been able to work with you and help you out with your geeky needs. I've always maintained that everybody is a geek about something, and those of us who geek out over the "geeky" stuff have always been the most fun. Managing ToyWiz has been a dream job for me, and it hurts like hell now that it's time to wake up.

I can't really think of anything else to say, so I'll just end with repeating that it truly has been a pleasure dealing with you all over the years, and I'm really sorry to see it end. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And goodbye.

But after an outpouring of regret and commiseration, there was an update…

This has been a crazy week. From the moment I found out we had to close up shop, it's been an emotional roller coaster. The outpouring of support has been overwhelming to say the least, and I've been touched by everybody's concern. After a week of preparations, though, we managed to work some things out, and I have a new announcement to make.

The short of it is, ToyWiz will be staying open now. However, things are going to be different. Most notably, our hours and staff are going to be pared down significantly. Primarily, ToyWiz is only going to be open 4 days a week. There are going to be a few wonky days while we set this up. We're going to still be closed on Sunday, May 26 through Tuesday, May 28. On Wednesday, May 29, we will be open from 10am until 6pm. Thursday, May 30, we will be closed. Finally, our new hours will begin on Friday, May 31. Here's that new schedule:

Sundays: noon – 6
Mondays & Tuesdays: CLOSED
Wednesdays: noon – 11pm
Thursdays: CLOSED
Fridays: noon – 11pm
Saturdays: noon – 8pm

The hours of operation and the staff aren't the only changes being made. We're going to be completely redoing the front of the store. Our toy selection is going to be pared back significantly as we narrow our focus to just comics, gaming, and supplies. Stuff from the website will still be able to be ordered for store pickup, we're just going to have a lot less (if any) of it on the shelves. Our back gaming rooms are going to eventually be closed off, but the renovations in the front and rearranging of our setup will allow us to set up tables up there, with additional plans to move some other walls around. Gaming will still be alive at ToyWiz, but the number of tables will be cut back a bit. For our miniatures gamers, even though we will now be closed on Thursdays, we intend to keep Vets Night going on the first Thursday of each month, when we will still open up just for gaming.

I know this has been a crazy past couple of days, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of the support you've given us while we work through this. I know this may seem like a sudden reversal, just as sudden as the news we broke the other day, and I hope you don't think this was some kind of stunt. We've been going through a lot of planning and replanning since the decision was first made, and we were fully ready to close up shop forever. But thankfully, we've managed to work things out and get things set up so ToyWiz can continue to survive.

This new configuration will take some getting used to, and additional changes may need to be made as we work out the details, but personally, I'm just happy that we can keep providing you with your geek stuff. It's going to be hard work, and I promise I will do everything I can to be up to the challenge for you.

Thank you all again. And I hope to keep seeing you at ToyWiz.

Quite a turnaround. Good luck from Bleeding Cool to ToyWiz and hope things go smoother and stabler going forward.

Bleeding Cool tries to mark the passing of comics stores as well as their opening. Existing fanbases are likely to make the former more well known, but please let us know if a comic store is opening or closing in your neighbourhood. Just e-mail richjohnston@bleedingcool.com.

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