‘That nostalgic feeling’: Plainfield toy store has captured childhood for 10 years

From time to time, stories pop up in the news about a piece of artwork bought at a garage sale being worth thousands of dollars. For the lucky customer, the find can be life-changing.

Plainfield resident Bob Taylor has had his own lucky find rummaging through the cast-offs and unwanted items of others: A career.

Taylor owns Toy Buzz and Fizz, a toy, candy and soda store just east of downtown Plainfield.

“I really didn’t have aspirations to own a toy store my whole life,” Taylor said. “It was more just to be a business owner.”

His start in the toy business came from a friend who happened to be a toy collector who wanted help selling his toy collection online. After selling the items, one of the pair came across another toy collection “at Goodwill or a garage sale,” according to Taylor. The process of buying and selling toy collections continued until Taylor told his friend that he wanted to pursue a career selling toys.

“I told him, ‘You know, I think I could probably make a living doing this, or I’d at least like to try,’” said Taylor. “And really that was the genesis of it.”

Ten years ago, Toy Buzz and Fizz started strong, with a myriad of toys, candy and novelty soda. However, the store was limited by its 500-square-foot location in the very back of Gizmo’s Galleria, a flea market in Brownsburg.

“The hardest thing to do when you’re in retail as a small business owner is control your inventory,” he said. “And really, what that means is you can buy all day long, but you will never have any money. It’s easy to spend all the money.”

Taylor opted to take it slow and steady by spending several years building up a clientele before going out on his own in downtown Plainfield, where Toy Buzz and Fizz resided prior to its current spot at 1702 E. Main St.

Taylor made his store a place where toy and game fans could find something new on every visit—something he has continued in his current location, which has grown to more than 4,000 square feet. Describing it as the “cool factor,” Taylor said he wanted “a place for people to come and hang out if they want to play games and chill, grab a soda or snacks, just kind of a welcoming feeling.”

“It reminds people of their childhood … that nostalgic feeling,” said Taylor.

Taylor has had some interesting interactions with customers over the years. Clients come in with treasures to trade, hoping to score a bit of store credit, and Taylor has seen an assortment of oddities and unique items.

“The first thing that comes to mind is the G.I. Joe aircraft carrier—the USS Flag,” he said. “That’s a big, cool piece that people from my age and even younger people that know what it is will go, ‘Oh my gosh, you have that thing.’”

It’s not unusual for customers to bring in sealed items from their youth—items that have been tucked away in closets or attics that are suddenly valued at hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

“Something that just came in a couple weeks ago that is super cool is a sealed Game Boy Color Pokemon Yellow,” said Taylor. “I mean, you don’t find those every day. So, that is really, really neat.”

Of course, buys like that are not the norm—and there have been times when Taylor was not certain about his career choice.

“There were definitely nights when I was laying awake, going, ‘Boy, I hope people come in and buy stuff today,’” he said.

Nonetheless, Taylor went into business with the mindset of “it may work and it may not.” If the toy store didn’t end up the way he planned, he said he always had “a million other ideas.”

“If you make it past the first three years, you’re good—but you know, 90% of businesses don’t make it that long,” he said. “I’m very proud that I have. So far, so good.”

Connor Burress is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.