For years, she was just a shopper as the mother of 7-year old Kellan and more recently her daughter. But now, she owns the place.
Late last month, Heinlein took over the helm of the longtime Queen Anne store from Janelle McCrackin, who opened the children’s toy and clothing outlet nine years ago. When word spread that the store may close if a new owner wasn’t found, Heinlein quickly jumped in.
“When another business was up for sale, I was like, ‘No, that can’t happen!’” said Heinlein, who grew up on Queen Anne. “The best way to keep it exactly how it is, is to buy it, so that’s what we did.”
And though the store’s ownership has changed, Heinlein — who previously worked in children’s publishing and in the tech industry — said shoppers will see most things stay the same. That includes almost all of the current lines and inventory.
“A few things will refresh,” she said, “but it’s going to be the same type of buying, nostalgic, classic toys and just good-quality, unique things.”
Heinlein said the store will also likely add a few more “mainstream” items, like LEGOs, to fill the void left when Communique closed at the end of April. That kind of adjustment is in response to input from shoppers.
“I want to grow with the community,” she said. “So when people come in and there is something that is missing, that we talk about bringing it in and see how it does, so it turns into a store that is really built around our community.”
As the store adjusts in the coming months, Heinlein said the hope is that any changes would be in line with the store’s current feel.
“We’re going to continue to fit in things that I don’t know if the community would see it as something that would be claiming it as my own,” Heinlein said. “Hopefully, it will feel very natural and right with the store that they love.”
The biggest shift may be the hours of operation, with the store now open every day until 7 p.m., something Heinlein said would be beneficial to working parents.
She also hopes to make the store somewhat of a social hub for moms, adding more children’s play areas around the shop and making the shopping experience more inclusive for parents to meet other parents.
However, in the early going, Heinlein said she’s focused on learning the ropes and to “make sure that the legacy that’s been built gets to be continued.”
“It feels very nostalgic and fun and magical, and I want to continue that, for sure,” she said.
Moving on
Meanwhile, McCrackin is leaving the store to focus full-time on the flower farm she purchased last year. Since then, her daughter has run the day-to-day operations, but with a burgeoning photo business of her own, the time was right for both of them to move on.
“We just had to make some choices, and we were ready for a new adventure,” she said.
When that decision was made, McCrackin said she felt good about the chances of someone stepping in to run the store.
“There are a lot of people that love this store and have shopped here for a really long time, and we have a pretty good community,” McCrackin said. “So I was really hopeful that someone would take over, and sure enough.…”
As for the person taking on that role, she has plenty of praise.
“Liz is amazing,” McCrackin said. “She’s going to do a really great job. She’s very enthusiastic, and she already loves the store, but yet, she has some fresh, new ideas.”
But even with any new concepts, Heinlein said she wants to bring local families the same feeling they’ve grown accustomed to.
“We want people to come in and just have the kind of experience that I used to have on Queen Anne years ago,” she said.
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