Tom’s Toys in Montrose celebrates more than 50 years of success
At 5 years old, Ted Frankel walked into his father’s shop, Don’s Toy Store on Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles, and saw something he wanted.
“I’d like to have that wagon up there,” Frankel remembers telling his father, Don.
But, instead of giving the toy to his son, Ted Frankel’s father proposed that he instead start working at the store for 25 cents an hour, and he could then buy anything he wanted on the shelves at half price.
“Right then, I learned I had to work,” Ted Frankel said.
He learned how to mark merchandise at first, was trusted to operate the register at the age of 9, and at 10 was honing his gift-wrapping skills. He said he learned the business of selling toys after working every day after school.
After a short stint in college and more than a decade spent as a sales representative for his father’s wholesale business, Ted Frankel bought his first toy store, Tom’s Toys, from owner Tom Williams in San Luis Obispo in 1986.
Ten years later, he purchased Williams’ other toy store in Montrose.
Today, Tom’s Toy Store on Honolulu Avenue is celebrating 51 years as an independent shop even when online retailers have driven big-box toy stores, such as Toys R Us, nearly out of business.
Ted Frankel went on to open four stores throughout the L.A. area but settled on operating three sites — the third being in Beverly Hills, the most profitable location.
“[My father] taught me how to buy, how to pay for certain products and how to deal with people so that I was comfortable. He was very fair-minded and liked building long-term relationships,” Ted Frankel said. “In a lot of ways, I run the store like my father, [but] more aggressive as far as purchasing inventory.”
Free gift-wrapping, a variety of toys, good value and customer service are what Frankel said has kept customers like Jillian Wahlquist coming back year after year.
Wahlquist grew up in Montrose and began working at the Montrose store after graduating from Crescenta Valley High School. She has since worked her way up to her current role as the chain’s vice president.
“It’s one of those places you could find pretty much anything that you are looking for,” Wahlquist said. “I remember looking for a gift for friends and found a lobster Slinky, something really off the wall.”
Wahlquist attributes the store’s continued success in the face of declining toy shops to not only Ted Frankel’s business savvy but the Montrose community — in particular the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. — which she and Ted Frankel called “an ideal match.”
“Out of the three store locations, I would say that the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. is one of the strongest groups that we work with. They do so much for the community,” Wahlquist said. “It’s one of those rare places where I think the downtown community wouldn’t be as strong if it wasn’t for the [association].”
Tom’s Toys is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
