This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Jabberwocky Celebrates 20 Years of Toys

Jabberwocky, the store of educational toys and games, celebrates 20 years on Chatham's Main Street.

, the Main Street children's store, proudly opened its doors in 1991. This year, they celebrate their 20th anniversary of servicing Chatham and its surrounding communities  with its variety of educational toys and games for children of all ages.

“Believe or not, this establishment has been a toy store for more than 50 years,” said Ahmed Nahvi, who owns Jabberwocky with his wife. 

The storefront used to be called Alka Toys and Sports. “But as soon as the space became available, my wife Nancy and I moved in and decided to continue the tradition with Jabberwocky,” Nahvi said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Nahvi used to commute for a previous job. The inconvenience, he said, was a personal detriment. After he noticed Alka Toys and Sports, he waited for the store to go up for sale.

“Since I live in Chatham, it's about a 10 minute to and from the store,” said Nahvi. “I've been doing this ever since, and it's probably the best part of the job.”

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

When Jabberwocky first started, business was generally good. Since the recession started, however, Ahmed and Nancy said sales have taken a dive. The two strive to stay successful through marketing strategies and an ever-changing selection of merchandise.

“Our line of products changes all the time,” said Nahvi. “The popularity of certain toys or games changes with the season, so we try our best to keep the store updated on the current fads with children.”

Nahvi said he keeps his products fresh by attending different toy shows in Manhattan. According to Nahvi, numerous toy fairs and stationary shows are held all year.

“These toy shows are really convenient because each manufacturer has a booth where we can try out each product for ourselves,” said Ahmed. The manufacturers also provide catalogs of all their products, which the Nahvis peruse. “After getting an exact feel for the product, we take note of what we think would be popular and sell well with the kids.”

Jabberwocky's products are mainly centralized on educational toys and games. According to Nahvi, the reason for this solely rests on the support of the community.

“I see Chatham as a very family-oriented town with a lot of growing kids,” said Nahvi. “For 20 years, Jabberwocky has been a wonderful source for educational and classic games and toys. And we plan to keep it that way for years to come.”

Ongoing support from the community, Nahvi said, has kept Jabberwocky flourishing during the difficult economic times.

To help celebrate their 20th year in Chatham, the Jabberwocky owners held a raffle in June. The store sold tickets for a month to passing customers. Winners received prizes such as novelty toys, books and crafts.

Jabberwocky also collects the caps from plastic bottles, which are not commonly recycled by commercial vendors. Jabberwocky has a box for the caps to water bottles and plastic containers such as for shampoo, body wash and clothes detergent. They then send the caps for recycling and reusing.

Jabberwocky also held it's first on July 30. According to Nahvi, more tournaments will follow in September, with prizes available for the top three players.

Jabberwocky is located at 261 Main St. in Chatham Borough. They are  best known for their large variety of Lego, Playmobil, Pokemon and Beyblade-related products. The store also offers an assorted section of books, games, cards and various gifts for children and teenagers.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?