WAUWATOSA — With Christmas right around the corner, the hot spot in town is the Ruckus and Glee toy store in Wauwatosa on 68th street.
Owner Matthew Paulson felt the store was what the community was missing.
"Well, we saw a need in the community," he explains "We have a daughter and there are lots of great places to walk to in Wauwatosa. There are lots of places to sit down and eat, and great parks for your kids to play in, but we thought what was missing was a toy store."
This store is special because they allow the kids to play with the toys,
- The List: These Restaurants Are Offering Carryout, Delivery
- Are You Open? Submit Your Business!
- The Rebound Milwaukee: Resources For Getting Back To Normal
So, they can get a feel for them before the parents step in and buy them what they want.
They also do private shopping for their customers, Matthew came up with the idea because of the pandemic.
"Some people don't feel real comfortable right now being in the store," Paulson says. "Even it's just five people in the store. So, having these opportunities for parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles whoever is buying for Christmas, to come to the store by themselves and have the whole store to themselves for 45 minutes is a great luxury, and it was a necessity. It's about serving the customer the best we can."
The pandemic also forced them to do online shopping, which has really helped business.
The variety of toys that they carry in-store, keeps their customers happy. Matthew says puzzles are among their top sellers.
"Puzzles are still huge, all ages are loving puzzles," he says. "I think we've been stuck inside, kids are helping out their parents doing puzzles, we've got family puzzles, those are popular. Other popular items, fidgeting is still a thing. Even though we are not in classrooms, they still need something to fidget with. We have great little fidget toys, we have a puzzle box which is over there on our shelf."