WILLIAMSBURG — After public outcry in January over the pending closure of School Crossing, the store has now announced that it will be under new ownership come May.
Previous owner Sherry Phipps had announced plans to retire in January on her Facebook page, and many members of the public were saddened to hear the news. The end of her lease at the Monticello Marketplace shopping center coincided with an upcoming milestone birthday, so she decided it was time to hang up her shoes.
“When I first started, I never had planned that I’d be doing this for three decades. Every year, I’d say ‘I really love what I do, I’m not ready to walk away and do something different,’ but this year, I was going to have to renew my lease. I just realized that I didn’t want to get to the point where I hadn’t been able to travel or go away for the weekend,” Phipps said in January.
After seeing the public reaction, Phipps began to search for a buyer.
Andrew and Erika Elgert had been patrons of School Crossing for as long as they could remember. Andrew, for example, began visiting the store with his mom, a Hampton Roads teacher, as a kid.
Upon learning Phipps was going to close the store, Erika, who was in the healthcare industry, and Andrew, who was in software development, had a conversation and decided to put their hat in the ring to purchase the store.
“It really was an idea out of desperation of ‘this store can’t possibly close,’ we had the same thoughts and feelings as the hundreds of comments on the closing post. We were going through some transitions with our jobs and family and one day I just looked at Andrew and said ‘I have a crazy idea … what if we found a way to buy School Crossing?’ We wanted it to live on and make sure that our community didn’t have to lose it,” Erika said.
The couple signed the paperwork on April 1 and officially became owners of the store.
Since the Elgerts are new to owning a business, Phipps and her husband Bob have been offering advice to the couple.
“Bob and Sherry are walking right along with us. They are giving us all of their secrets of the trade, letting us know what to do, who to meet with … I don’t think we could have done this whole process without knowing that they would be there with us in the beginning to help us get our footing,” Andrew said.
Erika plans to manage the store, while Andrew will focus on the finances.
The Elgerts are currently making minor renovations to the store, including painting and rearranging fixtures. However, Erika said that she plans to keep the store the same place that many in the area know and love.
“A lot of what people have come to know about School Crossing will remain the same. The toys that people have come to know and love, those will still be there. That said, we’re really pumped about being able to say, ‘hey we’re restocked’ and everything is exciting,” Erika said.
In addition to the toys and games, teacher supplies will also still be a part of the store.
In the future, the Elgerts hope to open a community space for classes, birthday parties and educational opportunities. The couple also wants to add a play area for little ones to be able to explore some of the toys available for purchase in the store.
While currently closed throughout the month of April, the Elgerts are busy meeting with representatives and buyers for toy companies, scouring catalogs, researching toys, and restocking.
The Elgerts have felt an outpouring of support from the public in light of their new enterprise.
“We’ve just been blown away by the community response. The community outpouring of love and support for the store was critical for us. We’ve seen this response to the store closing and we know that the community loves this store as much as we do, that really sealed the deal for us,” Andrew said.
The store will host a grand re-opening in May.
Customers are encouraged to follow the store’s Facebook and Instagram pages for the most up-to-date information.
