Independent companies, who remain incredibly popular in San Mateo, have held steadfast for years, but the recent closure of the Toys R Us chain has brought attention to the successes of small businesses who thrive despite rising property prices and new competition in the area.
Talbots Toyland continues to draw business in downtown San Mateo, but had a unique perspective on Toys R Us’ shutdown.
“It’s actually a sad day,” Talbots’ manager Keith Schumacker said. “People don’t realize that most of the things that are here in the store are here because of Toys R Us. Toys R Us is such a big company … That type of volume that they do relates to a lot of development and research dollars that created new toys for the whole industry. On the other end of it, we’re happy — we’ve been here for 65 years. We outlived them, but it’s a sad day.”
B Street Books, also located in downtown San Mateo, is a small corner store that sells inexpensive used books. It is a popular destination for book lovers of all ages.
“I think a big difference between a big chain like Barnes and Noble and a small used book store is that the collection is curated by someone who chose which books to buy,” one employee said. “Something that’s really lovely and special about that is that we see books that are coming from loving homes, and then seeing that they are going to loving homes and that people are buying them and really caring about each one.”
The newer Kingston Cafe, a regular hangout for younger students in Shoreview, has been successful, drawing in business from North Shoreview Montessori across the street. Owner Cari Rotoli notes the perks of starting her own small business.
“I’ve wanted to have my own business since I was a child,” Rotoli said. “I wanted to open this particular cafe in this location because I had a relationship to the school, and when I was talking to some of the parents over there, they said we needed something like that in our neighborhood … The most enjoyable thing for me is a sense of pride when were full and busy and everyone’s enjoying the food … For me, that’s the best feeling. I really like that.”
