Company type | Toy store |
---|---|
Industry | Retail sales |
Founded | March 1, 1970Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh) | in
Founder | Jack Cohen[1] |
Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Number of locations | 3 |
Area served | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Products | Toys, Hobbies |
Owner | Jack Cohen |
Number of employees | (25 (2019)) |
Website | swrandalltoys |
S.W. Randall Toyes and Giftes is a toy store which was established in 1970.[2][3] It is a specialty toy and gift shop with headquarters located in downtown Pittsburgh, selling old-fashioned, idiosyncratic, and nostalgic toys, along with modern toys.[2] The store has been a local landmark since 1970,[3] and "is a Pittsburgh tradition".[A] It is Pittsburgh's largest specialty toy store, and with a half century of service it is the city's oldest surviving toy business.[5][6]
Jack Cohen and his wife[7] founded the original store in 1970 in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, when Jack was 23 years old and working as an ice cream truck driver.[1] They named it after their children Sherry, Stacey, Wendy, and James (middle name Randall). As of 2019, the Cohens still work for the company and it remains a family-run business.[1][8][9] Specializing in quirky products that "nobody else has", the store has earned Jack Cohen the sobriquet of "The Toy Keeper".[10]
The stores have been a Pittsburgh landmark and tourist attraction since 1970,[2][11][12][13][14][3] and it sells classic toys.[8][15]
As of 2019, there are three stores: Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and Downtown Pittsburgh which is the flagship location.[16][B] There were seven stores at the apogee of the company's growth.[C] The company is privately held but according to a 2009 report, the business stocked 30,000 different items, had revenues of $2.5 million and employed 28 people.[4][17] The company is a member of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association.[18]
During the 2011 filming of The Dark Knight Rises in Pittsburgh, the store received a boost in sales of older nostalgia Batman items; customers included Christopher Nolan, the film's director, who said he "loved the store".[19] The downtown shop is often a stop on "Haunted Pittsburgh" tours; the third floor reportedly hosts apparitions.[D]