The Toy Chest moved across the street
Hilary Key, owner of The Toy Chest, at the new location.
~ story and photos by Paige Langenderfer
The Toy Chest recently moved into a beautiful Victorian building on South Van Buren Street in Nashville’ s Calvin Place, across the road from its previous home in the Artists Colony Inn shops.
The Toy Chest has been a staple in Nashville since 1970. It was first owned by Helen and Ed Hollis and started out on Main Street. It moved to the Artists Colony Inn area in 1988, when the complex was first built. Cathy and David Martin bought the business in 1989 and ran it until they sold it to the current owner, Hilary Key, in 2014.
The location became available in February, when the owners of the shop Madeline’ s retired. By May 25 Hilary and staff had completely renovated the new location, moved the store, and opened to the public.
After just three weeks in the new location, Hilary noticed a dramatic increase in foot traffic.
“ In our former location, it was really difficult for people to just stumble upon us. Now you can’ t miss us,” she said. Hilary and her team pulled up carpet, painted every wall, added wallpaper, refinished floors and even had new hardwood floors installed in one of the rooms.
52 Our Brown County • July / August 2023