After being in the heart of downtown for the past nine years, WeeBee Toys enters a new era as they approach their 10th anniversary.
Late last year, WeeBee Toys moved to 545 Yellowstone Ave., around the corner from where the specialty toy store started. “This location is better in probably every way for us, but I am really, really fond of where I opened WeeBee initially,” said owner Kim Johnson. “I loved the location. The building was perfect. We had a really funky basement that totally was haunted, we swore, but that was where I birthed the idea. That’s where everything kind of came to be.”
As an experienced counselor who primarily works with children, Kim Johnson set out to open a toy store in the community in 2015, and in December of that year, WeeBee Toys came downtown.
“The way that I do counseling with kids and adolescents is to use toys. Play therapy allows them to use toys as their words because it’s really difficult for kids to come up with words. But if you ever watch a kid play, that’s the way they’re communicating and figuring things out,” she said. “So I have a really profound appreciation for toys because of that.”
Kim’s appreciation for toys is what has made WeeBee so successful. At WeeBee, you will find a variety of classic, unique and educational toys.
Since the beginning, WeeBee has been focused on families. “When we started this, my kids were teenagers at the time. All three of them got to work at the store and bring in their personalities,” she said.
And her kids weren’t the only ones involved in the small business. Her entire extended family showed up to haul toys, stock the shelves and today, the staff is still made up of her relatives.
At the new location, Kim’s sister Mandi Street, is especially involved as she’s taken on a bigger role. When moving to the new location, Kim decided it was time for her to step down and let Mandy take over, a job that comes naturally to her.
“When she was little, she loved to play cash register. That’s all she played. She loved it,” Kim said. “My mom had to find her a cash register to play with and she loved organizing stores. Now she really does talk about the fact that this is the job that she wanted to do when she was little.”
Mandi’s organizational skills combined with Kim’s passion for toys have set this toy store apart, and have only grown at the new location.
The new store has a different concept than before, WeeBee City. As you venture inside, you will notice a road on the floor that takes you around the store that’s organized into sections like WeeBee Mart, Central Park, the construction zone, the school and more.
Although the new location is technically smaller than the last, the toy selection is bigger. With more shelving and a new approach, the toys are more carefully selected and stocked.
As WeeBee grows into this new era, Kim says it’s important to her that everybody feels welcome there. “This is a place where people should be able to come in and feel safe and feel happy, and they should be able to explore and create and do those things in a safe environment.”
For More Information
WeeBee Toys
545 Yellowstone Ave.
208-260-5300
www.weebeetoys.com
