Beloved toy store that survived pandemic and tariffs shutters after 40 years for heartbreaking reason
Store owner Jennifer Bergman shuttered West Side Kids, in Manhattan's Upper West Side, on July 31 after struggling to pay her bills.
The closure came months after the 58-year-old hinted tariffs could lead to her store having to close.
Bergman ran the shop since taking it over from her mother Alice in 2010, and spent thousands of dollars out of pocket to keep it going.
Earlier this year toy companies began marking up products after the US imposed steep tariffs on goods imported from China.
Despite a cut in tariffs in May, it was not enough for the store to recover from its low customer count, or for Bergman to pay her rent.
'May and June are usually really busy, but I didn't have a really busy May or June. June at one point was down 43 percent from last June, and last June wasn't great,' Bergman told The New York Times.
'In the first seven months of 2025, sales totaled $100,000 less than in the same period of 2024.'
West Side Kids described itself as the 'neighborhood toy store for Manhattan's Upper West Side.'
It carried a wide selection of books and toys for children of all ages, and accepted online orders.
Bergman said she was increasingly having more difficulty in getting specific toys for her shop, which was a factor in the business' decline.
'There was merchandise I couldn't get. Baby and preschool toys that I would normally have a lot of, I didn't have,' she said.
Near the end, the longtime store owner said she was short on arts-and-crafts toys as she could no longer afford to order them.
The rise of British-made Jellycat toys was no help, especially since she was not able to get a shipment of the the stuffed animals to the store for a year and a half.
The sought-after toys earned West Side Kids $54,000 in 2023, but after inventory ran low, the store was only able to make $16,000 from Jellycat sales last year.
Bergman said the store never got over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
'The city's never recovered from Covid. We never recovered from Covid,' Bergman told The New York Times.
'That's the reason why we moved around the corner. That was our attempt to make a go of it. I was hoping to survive another five years.'
The original store was on Amsterdam Avenue, but moved to a side street, West 84th, in 2023.
The toy store experienced a business boom in July after word spread that it was closing, but this has not entirely worked in Bergman's favor.
'My volume may seem higher, but my expenses are higher. For a store like mine, it was 5 percent here and 6 percent there. It adds up fast,' she explained.
'It's very easy to get into a position where you don't have the money to pay the bills and you can't order the product and you have empty shelves.'
In an attempt to save the store, Bergman said she prepared to sell it to 'very interested' buyers at the beginning of the year, that is, until tariffs hit.
With the financial damage having been done, West Side Kids became a thing of the past following its store closing party.
The original store was on Amsterdam Avenue, but moved to a side street, West 84th, in 2023
Loyal customers visited the shop to get their final purchases, but were still having a hard time accepting the closure.
'It's bittersweet... There aren't that many local stores anymore. My oldest is turning 50 and that's how long I've been supporting them,' a customer told FOX 5 New York.
'I have a 46-year-old son, and when he was a baby, we lived on the East Side, and I used to come across the park with him in a stroller,' shopper Annie Emanuel told PIX11.
'I used to buy all the toys she had from Italy and Spain, and Britain,' she said, adding that she still owns some of them today.
Several Instagram users were also heartbroken, but wished Bergman nothing but the best.
'So sad to hear. Our daughter is now 19 but you were my go to place during her bday party phase. Lovely selection, gift wrapping and hands on service,' an Instagrammer wrote.
'Thanks for being is such a light for parents and kids in the city. Best of luck.'
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