The Zoo Company Toy Store
If you ask owner Allison Stewart what makes The Zoo Company Toy Store one of the happiest places in Cape May, she’ll tell you it’s not the toys. Or at least, not just the toys.
It’s the love.
“We pack a lot of love into these 500 square feet,” Stewart says. “It’s one of the most fun, love-filled places I know.”
Located on the Washington Street Mall, The Zoo Company Toy Store is impossible to miss—just look for a store window packed with plushies, a group of marionettes performing at the window puppet theater (Stewart likes to call this Cape May’s longest-running theater show), and enough color to make a rainbow jealous. Or, of course, the smears of ice cream kisses, left on the windows daily as kids clamber to watch the show.
A Cape May County Tradition
The Zoo Company Toy Store has been delighting customers for 40 years. First established by Barry and Susan Tischler, the shop has long held a reputation for being a place where color, creativity, and memory collide. Today, it continues to live up to that legacy under the care of owner Allison Stewart, who has helmed the beloved toy store for the past 22 years.
From the moment you walk in, you’re transported to a world where nostalgia meets kawaii (a word that, in Japanese culture “sits more or less at the juncture of “cute,” “tiny,” or “lovable,” according to Merriam-Webster), and the mood is pure magic. It smells faintly of cherries thanks to a few cleverly hidden scent diffusers, and the sound system is a curated playlist of The Muppets, Schoolhouse Rock!, Free to Be You and Me, and more. “I just try to keep it fun,” says Stewart.
And while the shelves are packed with plush toys, Hello Kitty collectibles, slime, and figurines you didn’t know existed, it’s not the inventory that makes the store special. It’s the experience, which is totally focused on the under-four-foot set.
“My number one priority is people under four foot,” says Stewart, of her kid-focused approach.
“I have a little step up at the register so they can see what’s going on. It’s a lot of fun. And I think that the parents appreciate that we talk to the kiddos,” says Stewart. “We talk to the kiddos before we talk to the parents…and if they say an automatic thank you for something, they get a round of applause with little hand clappers. I just try to be a positive influence in a lot of ways.”
It’s about making kids feel they are important in a world that often ignores them.
“When we have a kiddo that saves up all their money, all their change all year, all winter long, and they bring me a bag of change and give it to me. I feel that’s an honor,” says Stewart. “And when we’re sitting there counting it all out together and I’ve got a long line out the door, I’ll say ‘Sorry, I’ll be with you in just a moment. I have a really important customer right here.’”
Toys that Tell Stories
While Stewart’s focus is on the kids, she stocks plenty of retro treasures adults will recognize. Her finds include nostalgic gems like Monchichis, Stretch Armstrongs, Hello Kitty, and Magic 8 Balls, tucked among modern must-haves like Pokemon plushies and Sunny Angels, and items from Sanrio Fat Brain Toys and Wild Republic. “We probably have 150 different Pokemon characters right now,” says Stewart.
Despite the small footprint of the store, Stewart attends the New York Toy Fair and is a member of ASTRA, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. She carefully curates her inventory, guided by instinct and the simple question: Is it cute?
From American-made slime to Japanese-inspired character collectibles as well as plush and plastic animals in keeping with the ‘zoo’ theme, Stewart’s inventory walks the line between adorable and obscure. “We’ve got a whole license wall filled with toys based on characters from TV, movies and books. It’s really, really colorful. But as long as it’s cute, that’s kind of what I do.”
Building Community, From the Inside Out
Stewart’s commitment to the kids starts with the people she brings in to work at The Zoo Company.
“I have moms and some college students, and I’ve even had several high school girls working at the store. It’s a nice group of people. They work well together,” says Stewart. “It’s kind of our most important thing, to make sure everybody’s happy and works well together.”
Together, Stewart and her staff have seen generations of families walk through The Zoo Company door, some returning year after year. “There are kids who came here when they were little who now come back with their own kids,” she says.
And when they can’t come in, part of The Zoo Company goes to them via online orders. “When I do have an online order, I try to add in little extra toys because again, I’m trying to provide an experience,” says Stewart. “So, they’re not getting a box with a monchichi in it. They’re going to get a box with some stickers and maybe a little glow in the dark finger and maybe like a top or something with a handwritten note.”
“Without our customers, we’re nothing,” says Stewart. “They put Thanksgiving dinner on our table. My biggest pet peeve is when you go to a store, and they don’t even say hello.”
At The Zoo Company, that kind of indifference is unimaginable. The store’s commitment to hospitality is evident in everything from its repeat customers to the beaming kids at the counter—stickers in hand and smiles on their faces.
The Happiest Place in Town
That, ultimately, is the heart of The Zoo Company. It’s not just a toy store—it’s a place where kids are celebrated, adults feel welcome, simple moments matter, and everyone—big or small—is treated like the most important person in the room.
“We just try to be a positive influence in a lot of ways,” Stewart says.
In a world that’s often too fast, too digital, and too impersonal, The Zoo Company offers something different: a cherry-scented, nostalgia-filled escape where kindness is standard, curiosity is encouraged, and joy is always within reach.
