Toys R Us St Catharines: Is It Still Open? (2026 Update)

If you’ve driven past the Toys “R” Us on Meadowvale Drive in St. Catharines lately, you might have noticed the empty parking lot and the “For Sale” sign — the store that once anchored family shopping trips has fallen silent, part of a larger story playing out across Canada’s toy retail landscape. This article traces what happened, why it matters for the Niagara region, and what comes next.

Store address: 87 Meadowvale Dr, St. Catharines, ON ·
Current status (as of Dec 2025): Closed; property listed for sale ·
Original opening year: 1992 (estimated) ·
Parent company: Toys “R” Us Canada (owned by Putman Investments) ·
Number of Toys “R” Us stores left in Canada (2025): ~70 (including Babies”R”Us)

Six key facts, one pattern: a once-thriving storefront now sits empty while the parent company fights to survive.

Is Toys R Us in St. Catharines still open?

Current status of the St. Catharines store

• The St. Catharines location is widely reported as permanently closed as of late 2025. Social media posts and local forums indicate the store stopped serving customers sometime in the autumn of 2025.
• The property at 87 Meadowvale Dr was listed for sale in November 2025, according to real estate listings shared by community members.

Property listing and sale status

• As of a Nov. 28, 2025 report in the St. Catharines Standard (local newspaper), no buyer had been found after 16 weeks on the market.
• The building remains vacant, and there is no public timeline for its repurposing.

Official statements from Toys “R” Us Canada

• The company has not issued a press release specifically about the St. Catharines closure. Its official Toys “R” Us Canada website no longer lists the St. Catharines location in its store finder.
• Broader communications about the brand’s restructuring have come from the February 2026 CCAA filing (6ixRetail (Toronto retail news outlet)).

Why did Toys R Us go out of business?

Bankruptcy and debt issues

• Toys “R” Us was bought in a leveraged buyout in 2005, saddling the company with $5 billion in debt.
• Interest payments consumed cash that could have been used for store upgrades and e‑commerce investments.
• The U.S. parent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2017; the Canadian division followed in 2018.

Impact of e‑commerce and big‑box competition

• Amazon and Walmart captured market share by offering lower prices and home delivery.
• Toys “R” Us was slow to build a competitive online shopping experience.

The 2018 Chapter 11 filing and subsequent collapse

• In 2018, the company announced the closure of all U.S. stores, though the Canadian arm was later acquired by Putman Investments in 2021.
• Despite the acquisition, many Canadian stores continued to underperform.

Bottom line: The brand’s debt burden and failure to adapt to online retail created a structural problem that eventually trickled down to individual locations like St. Catharines. The parent company’s 2005 buyout, not local shopping habits, was the primary trigger.

Is there a Toys R Us still open in Canada?

Current number of Canadian stores

• As of late 2025, Toys “R” Us Canada operated approximately 70 locations (including Babies”R”Us).
• By February 2026, that number had dropped to about 22 stores following the CCAA filing, according to the 6ixRetail (Toronto retail news outlet).

Map of remaining locations

• Major cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal still have multiple locations.
• In Ontario, stores remain in Niagara Falls, Hamilton, London, Ottawa, and several GTA suburbs.

Differences between Toys “R” Us and Babies”R” Us

• Many locations are dual-format, carrying both toy and baby products.
• The company’s online stores (toysrus.ca, babiesrus.ca) were reported as unavailable during the restructuring, according to the 6ixRetail report.

Will Toys R Us ever exist again?

Post‑bankruptcy revival attempts

• In the U.S., Toys “R” Us returned through a partnership with Macy’s in 2022, offering shop-in-shop experiences.
• Canada’s brand continues under Putman Investments, but no large-scale relaunch has been announced.

New store formats and partnerships

• The Canadian division has experimented with smaller-format stores and added HMV concessions inside some locations.
• Industry analysts suggest the brand may survive in a leaner, more curated form, focusing on key city markets.

Market outlook for toy retail

• Online toy sales have grown steadily, but in-store shopping still matters for tactile product categories like action figures and board games.
• No nationwide full‑scale comeback is planned, according to company statements cited by the 6ixRetail report.

The implication: the brand’s future is likely smaller and more targeted, with a focus on profitability rather than footprint.

Which stores are shutting down in 2026?

Retail closures announced for 2026

• Other chains, including Party City and Bed Bath & Beyond, have announced significant store closures for 2026.
• Toys “R” Us Canada had not published a specific closure list as of December 2025, but the St. Catharines closure was already part of the trend.

Toys “R” Us Canada’s planned closures

• The February 2026 CCAA filing indicated that reducing the store count is central to the restructuring.
• GTA closures already reported include locations in Markham, Mississauga, and Newmarket, per the 6ixRetail report.

Regional impact on Niagara and Ontario

• The St. Catharines store was the only Toys “R” Us in the Niagara central area. Its absence leaves a gap that discount stores and online retailers are filling.

The pattern: as big-box toy retail contracts across Canada, secondary markets like the Niagara region lose access first, while major cities retain a thinning network of stores. For shoppers in St. Catharines, the 20-minute drive to Niagara Falls or Hamilton isn’t just an inconvenience — it reflects how the brand’s debt-driven decline reshapes local retail geography. Broader retail pressures, visible in liquidation sales like the Hudson Bay Liquidation Sale, reinforce the trend of physical-store contraction across Canada.

Quotes

“After 16 weeks, no buyer for St. Catharines Toys ‘R’ Us location.”

— St. Catharines Standard (local newspaper), Nov 28, 2025

“Toys’R’Us St. Catharines is staying! For now. They are out of liquidation however it is still up for sale.”

— Local shopper on Instagram, November 2025

“Goodbye Toys ‘R’ Us. You weren’t just a store—you were a good friend…”

— Reddit user, r/stcatharinesON

For St. Catharines families, the nearest toy superstore is now a 20-minute drive away — or a few clicks online, if the website is working. The closure leaves a gap that discount stores and online retailers are already filling. The pattern is clear: the retail model that worked for 1992 no longer fits 2026. For the Niagara region, the choice is either to drive further for a big-box toy experience or to adapt to new alternatives. Specialty toy retailers like West Coast Kids Toronto offer a curated alternative for families seeking dedicated children’s product stores.

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