Miami Area Toys R Us Locations To Stay Open

MIAMI, FL — Miamians who relish those annual Black Friday trips to Toys R US — swapping war stories with other frazzled parents in the checkout lines — can relax. Your time-honored holiday tradition appears safe for now as none of the Miami store locations are among 182 stores targeted for closing by the ailing retailer. The closest stores that will be closing are in Boca Raton, Coral Springs and Royal Palm Beach.

Other Toys R Us locations across the country are not as fortunate. The company is taking the drastic measure so it can emerge from bankruptcy protection. Company officials say they plan to shutter the stores marked for closing beginning in early February through mid-April, according to multiple reports. The closures still need court approval.

Eleven stores in Florida will be closing, including the locations in Boca Raton, Coral Springs and Royal Palm Beach.

The move come four months after Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid declining sales and climbing debt.

The company said a number of its existing locations will be co-branded as Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores, according to CNBC. The retailer filed for bankruptcy protection about four months ago. Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, Toys R Us has some 880 stores in the United States.

It is closing about one out of every five U.S. stores, according to court documents filed in a Virginia bankruptcy court.

David Brandon, chairman and CEO of the toy retailer, said the brand is reinventing itself, and that requires some “tough decisions about our priorities and focus.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," Brandon said in a letter posted on the company's website late Tuesday.

Savvy shoppers can take advantage of going-out-of-business sales, which are slated to begin in February.

In California alone, 27 stores are planned to be shuttered. New Jersey has 12 stores closing and New York has 15.

You can find a complete list of locations here.

Patch editors Don Johnson and Deb Belt contributed to this report.

Jill Leiva snapped this photo for Patch at a Miami area Toys R Us during the Black Friday rush.