(Photos by Brittany Nunn)
Christmas is over, kids — forever.
Green Beans Toy Boutique, AKA “The Train Store,” as kids call it because of its stellar train track by the entrance, is wiping its shelves and shuttering its windows.
The culprit? Amazon.com.
“We price match if there’s another toy store that offers the same thing, but no store can compete with Amazon,” says Green Beans manager Subhadra Phillips.
Ugh. Thanks Internet for ruining childhoods.
Many of Green Beans’ customers are neighbors who stop by on their way to birthday parties or events where they need a gift immediately, Phillips points out, because “you can’t get a gift in 15 minutes from Amazon.” But anyone who has enough time to price check is probably going to realize they can get it cheaper somewhere else, she says.
Green Beans was originally a resale boutique, but four years ago they changed the focus to a toy store only.
“Once we switched over, things were getting better. Sales were picking up,” Phillips says. “And then Amazon Prime blew up and we noticed that. Back in September, it wasn’t for sure, but it was basically like, ‘Let’s see what happens throughout the holidays.’ For any retail, the holiday season is when you make your profit for the year.”
This year they didn’t make the profit they needed, so they decided to shut the place down a couple weeks ago. Parents who visit regularly are disappointed to see it go, but the kids are heartbroken, Phillips says.
“The kids come in and they just start bawling,” she says. “They’re like, ‘If I give you guys $20, can y’all stay open?’ and stuff like that. It really hits home because a lot of these kids have been coming since they were little.”
Everything in the store is 30 percent off right now, and prices will drop even more in the next couple weeks before the store closes on the Jan. 24.
“We’ll spend the remainder of the time clearing the place out,” Phillips says.
