Zany Brainy gets hard lesson about running a downtown business

Gretchen Hoffman

Zany Brainy executives say it’s a no-brainer: Faced with “soft”

sales and a steep rent increase, the Glendale location of the

educational toy store is shutting its doors for good.

Merchandise prices in the downtown store have been reduced 10% to

30%, and refunds and exchanges no longer are available.

Store manager Joe Borges declined to say when the store’s last day

will be, but he anticipates it will be open through the holiday

season. “Zany Brainy is not going out of business, just this one

location,” he said. “Basically, we’ll be here until we run out of

products.”

Borges cited “soft sales and a ridiculous hike in rent” with the

decision to close the location. He declined to reveal specifics about

the rent increase.

The retailer opened in May 1999 in the former Woolworth building

at 201 N. Brand Blvd. City officials, saying the toy store would

increase foot traffic in that portion of Brand, agreed to provide it

an annual rent subsidy of $55,000 for 10 years.

“This is an atypical location for Zany Brainy,” said Alex

Hamilton, senior project manager for Glendale’s Department of

Development Services. “This is a more urban location for them. It’s

inherently risky. We tried to assume some of that risk so that we

could anchor that area with a retail brand. It’s unfortunate that it

didn’t work out for them or the city.”

Borges said a lack of advertising by Zany Brainy and lack of

parking along busy Brand Boulevard were to blame for the

lower-than-average sales of the Glendale location. A handful of

parking spots is available in front of the building and a metered lot

is behind the store, but people often circle around the block instead

of taking advantage of the parking garage on Orange Street, he said.

“We’ve been here four years, and no one seems to know we are

here,” he said. “Every third person that walks in says they hate

shopping here because of the parking. If we were one street over, we

would be pretty fine.”

The lack of parking along Brand is a familiar complaint.

“Parking has always been an issue downtown, but I think that in

that block it’s not so much of an issue,” said Leslyn Ray, president

of the Downtown Glendale Merchants Assn. “The Orange Street garage is

always open and is underused rather than overused.”

“It does seem like a good location,” she added. “I don’t know if a

toy store is the right concept for that location, though. We have a

lot of restaurants downtown; a corner location is always good when it

comes to restaurants.”

The News-Press has been headquartered on the second floor of the

Woolworth building since November 1999.

Zany Brainy has more than 180 stores across the country, including

in Pasadena and Woodland Hills. Its parent company is FAO Inc., owner

of the FAO Schwarz chain of upscale toy stores.

The FAO Schwarz store in the Glendale Galleria closed its doors

last year.