TOYZILLA forever
Donation protected
Help our small family toy store survive and thrive!
What is #TOYZILLAforever ? a movement, a community, a long term belief in our story.
IMPORTANT NOTES: In the interest of complete transparency we felt it important to note that the beneficiary of this campaign has a separate ongoing GoFundMe campaign devoted entirely to the care of his 4-year-old daughter and to honor his wife's legacy. Anyone wishing to support the family directly should contribute to the other campaign and not this one. Funds from this campaign directly fund the business TOYZILLA Inc, a retail toy store. In addition, this campaign is geared to Pop Culture Fans interested in REWARDS. Details on these rewards are detailed at the bottom of the page.
WHO WE ARE:
TOYZILLA was started five years ago by a family of pop culture fanatics intent on building a community around their passion; a place to buy, sell and trade toys but also attend signings, panels, screenings, classes and more! Although TOYZILLA was also a business that needed to make profit to survive, financial success was not its primarily goal nor its legacy.
OUR CHALLENGES:
This past year the COVID-19 pandemic decimated brick and mortar retail across the country but hardest hit may be Alhambra, California's very own toy and collectibles shop, TOYZILLA. While every business suffers loss, the smaller the business, the more that loss is felt. To date the single-location retailer has suffered and survived theft, flood, injury and demolition. The question is now whether it can survive death.
OUR HISTORY:
Opening late 2017, the toy retailer stood alone across from the newly completed retail/residential complex Alhambra Place in a two-story multicolored avant-garde building. The family run business featured make-shift displays and shelves overflowing with vintage toys and collectibles. According to reviews the messiness, couches and other quirks added a "treasure hunt" aspect to the store and an atmosphere of being home. The welcoming knowledgeable staff made you feel like family. In truth TOYZILLA was a family with owners consisting of dad (Dahveed), mommy (Lisa) and baby Nova who was often seen riding a 1989 Batmobile down the aisles of the store.
OUR SUCCESSES:
Despite setbacks the business ultimately thrived, becoming the destination not only for local collectors but for international travelers, shopping channels, and celebrities. TOYZILLA even produced a weekly live-stream show TOYZILLA LIVE and multiple events including the city-wide SuperHero Summer Fest for the Downtown Alhambra Business Association.
DISASTER STRIKES:
December 2019 the original store's location closed, not because of the pandemic but because of a planned demolition by their landlord. Moving was costly and TOYZILLA's new spot was not ready in time. With few options the TOYZILLA family went underground, moving into the basement of Rioni, the long standing Alhambra Italian Handbag store. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the family hoped to wait out the storm, selling online and running virtual signing events. Despite Dahveed and Lisa's best efforts, the online model was not immediately profitable and staff was cut by half as Lisa now cared for Nova fulltime at home. Despite everything, life was good as Dahveed, Lisa and Nova had more time to spend together, quarantining in their home near beautiful Alhambra Park. What happened next none of them could have ever imagined.
Celebrating Nova's 4th birthday on February 4th, all three family members collided with a huge boulder sledding downhill at Mount Baldy. While Dahveed suffered injury to his spine, Lisa died from blunt force trauma and Nova was left in critical condition with severe brain damage. At the hospital moments after his wife's passing, unable to see his daughter, whose life was hanging by a thread, the distraught husband only had one thing he could do to keep calm. He reviewed the details of the upcoming TOYZILLA She-Ra Funko POP signing with his friend Reymer Lopez, the person he entrusted with his family's legacy.
TIME TO ASK FOR HELP:
The sentiment shared by staff and customers has been one of support; to keep TOYZILLA alive. Family friends have been volunteering, working for free to ship orders and clean the storage to pass fire inspections. Lacking the funds now to move, TOYZILLA applied for occupancy to turn their current storage space into a retail space but were met with costly tenant improvements. The improvements included, among other things, the installation of a new elevator in the building, which would total close to $100,000 even before additional building upgrades. This week TOYZILLA was given a July 15th 2021 deadline to completely vacate their current space or pay a hefty fine of $500 with an additional $500 fine to be issued every 10 days after that they remain in the building! The only two options are: 1. Liquidate all TOYZILLA property at a loss, effectively going out of business. 2. Move to a new location which would require new funds. TOYZILLA's only chance now is to ask for YOUR HELP!
HOW YOUR FUNDS WILL BE USED:
TOYZILLA has been fighting for the past 5 years to forge a sustainable toy retail business. Your donation gets us through our current crisis and strengthens our commitment to fight another 5 years and beyond!
Moving Fees
New Location Rents, Deposits, Insurance, Utilities (x2 months)
Location Upgrades
Live stream studio space
Employee Salaries
Celebrity appearance guarantees
Merchandise
Contingency
BACKER REWARDS:
We are not asking you to give something for nothing! Every $100 donation entitles you to 1 Life Long TOYZILLA GOLD Membership (more on this below). PLUS, you have a choice of either:
1. The Foji Kaigon T-Shirt Package. LA's hottest design studio will send you 4 of their hottest designs in your size PLUS an exclusive design just for you! Will be shipped to you or available for pick up 30 days after order is placed.
OR
2. $120 in spending money at TOYZILLA.com or in store. Redeemable starting next year with no expiration date.
TOYZILLA GOLD Membership is a first alert notification on all TOYZILLA pre-sales PLUS items not sold such as Super Low Limited Edition Certified Signed Funko POPs.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?:
Even if you can not back this campaign share our story! Spread our story using the hashtags #TOYZILLAforever #TOYZILLAstore and send people to our new website www.TOYZILLA.com. We are active on Facebook and Instagram.
You can also promote our UPCOMING EVENTS:
We will take other kinds of help as well! If you have ideas, muscle, moving trucks or know people that want to buy large quantities of reasonable priced toys, let us know!
Thank you for your support!
-TOYZILLA
Organizer
Dahveed Kolodny-Nagy
Organizer
Alhambra, CA