CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Toy Boat’s Future Looks Brighter A Month After Closure Seemed Sure

A month ago, the owners of Toy Boat Toy Boat Toy Boat announced that the shop was on the brink of closure. Business had slowed to a trickle, they owed months of back rent and were ready to close their doors forever.

Today, with the help of a KFI radio “cash mob” on July 31, the shop continues to become more stable, owner Lori Curtin said this week in an interview.

“Since the cash mob, we’ve definitely seen a pickup in business from locals — and the listeners of KFI,” she said. Some KFI fans have traveled from as far away as Lake Elsinore and Santa Clarita to shop and show support of locally owned businesses, Curtin said.

Typically August can be a slow month in the toy business, but this year Toy Boat made enough money to pay all back rent and chip away at money owed to vendors and others. If business remains the same or better, Curtin said, plans to close the shop will remain permanently on hold.

“There’s still pressure,” she said. “We still need shoppers, we need this to continue.”

Meanwhile, she said, new merchandise comes in each day, and the shop’s shelves are more full then ever.

“We have lots of good toys,” she said. “The shop looks good.”

Toy Boat is located at 3331 East Coast Highway.

Read our earlier stories here and here.