Store That Inspired Toy Story Is Permanently Closing

The San Francisco toy store that was a big source of inspiration for the makers of Toy Story is closing for good after 86 years—and four generations of family ownership. Jeffrey's Toys, believed to be the city's oldest toy store, will close on Feb. 10. Co-owner Matthew Luhn, great-grandson of the store's founders, worked for Pixar for 20 years as an animator, writer, and story director. He was one of 12 animators on the first Toy Story movie, and he says the store, which had "this real magical thing," about it, was a regular stop when he and his colleagues were working on the 1995 film and its sequels.

"During Toy Story, we would have my dad come to give us ideas," he told SFGate last month. "And when we did reference for almost all the Toy Story films, we always went to Jeffrey's Toys. My dad just closed up the store and said, 'Just play, have fun, and let me know if you need anything.'" Luhn, who started helping out in the store when he was 2 years old, had been running it with his father and stepmother, but they faced numerous issues including rising rents and rising crime. The store—which had four Bay Area locations at its peak in the 1960s—moved from its longtime location in 2015, moved again two years later, and was paying $20,000 a month in rent for its current location.

Kuhn said business dropped as fewer office workers traveled downtown. He said shoplifting was a growing problem—and one longtime employee quit after somebody threatened her with a knife. The store was struggling due to the "perils and violence of the downtown environment, inflation, the decrease in consumer spending, and the demise of retail across the world," the family's attorney, Ken Sterling, said. Jeffrey's Toys is the latest of many stores in downtown San Francisco to shut down, the Washington Post reports. Other businesses have also cited unsafe conditions for employees as a big reason for closing their doors. (More Toy Story stories.)