Following the successful launch of their new e-commerce site, ShopIconicAustin.com, in reaction to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and a soft re-opening of some of their store locations over Memorial Day weekend, ICONIC AUSTIN BRANDS, a collection of some of Austin's most beloved, indie retail concepts including Toy Joy, Yummi Joy, Wild About Music and Austin Rocks, announces that they will be reopening all of their physical stores daily starting this Saturday, May 30 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. To ensure the safety of employees and customers, each store's capacity will be initially limited to under the 25% social distancing guidelines for walk-in customers.
We had a great few days of meeting new and existing customers at our Toy Joy Hyde Park location last weekend,
said Robby Pettinato, Brand Director of Toy Joy. We have put in place a solid safety policy that the majority of our guests told us they really appreciated. We require all visitors to our stores to wear face coverings. If they forgot theirs, we offer one for purchase for only $3. If they make a purchase of at least $5, we refund that charge and they have a comfy mask to wear for the rest of the day.
In addition to precautionary measures such as mandatory wearing of face coverings upon entering the stores, hand sanitizing is also required so that customers are able to handle store products safely. Sneeze guards have been installed at register areas, and keypads and other touch surfaces are sanitized between customers.
Toy Joy and Yummi Joy will also have additional precautions such as asking customers to shop with a store-issued sanitized basket to place any goods they handled within it. Anything not purchased will be sanitized or quarantined before putting back out for sale. Staff will be assisting all candy customers with their purchases. ICONIC AUSTIN BRANDS has also taken their safety measures a step further by offering a voluntary contact tracing log at each store where customers may temporarily add their information for notification in the event of a confirmed COVID-19 activity that is identified for the date of their visit.
There is still some public confusion and reluctance about wearing masks when shopping,
said Shelley Meyer, Co-Founder. For example, our Congress Avenue store, which is near the East 6th Street area where bars have reopened, is most challenged by uncooperative customers because most of the bars are not requiring the use of masks, so those people are the least prepared for our policies. In other districts and parts of town, however, most people were prepared with their own masks and willing to comply. Many were even appreciative of the extra precautions. Our greatest priority is protecting our employees and customers while shopping in our stores.
For those customers who do not feel comfortable shopping in-store, or prefer to shop from the comfort of their own homes, the SHOPICONICAUSTIN website features curated product selections from all four retailers through one unified portal to allow customers the ease and accessibility of shopping their favorite local brands from home. ShopIconicAustin.com was designed with the comfort level of customers in mind offering shopping online at home with free shipping over $50 and free curbside pickup from ICONIC AUSTIN BRANDS' Toy Joy Hyde Park location.
In addition to the launch of their e-commerce site, ICONIC AUSTIN BRANDS has partnered with Austin Council of PTAs, an all-volunteer organization that supports 112 PTAs throughout Austin ISD, for the Austin Fun + Learning program benefiting the community and local businesses. In this program, favorite Austin businesses and local not-for-profits will deliver books, school supplies, games, puzzles, art supplies and other tools for learning and fun to students in need. Donors are invited to buy items at local stores like Toy Joy and Wild About Music, which are offering a 15% discount on all purchases that are donated to this project. Austin Council of PTAs will gather the donated items and distribute them in partnership with Austin Voices for Education and Youth and Austin ISD, to families who visit their food distribution sites. For more information, see here.
ICONIC AUSTIN BRANDS has been collaborating with Austin creatives and serving locals, visitors and celebrities alike for decades. From its humble start in 1991 as a small hobby retail concept called Wild About Music, it expanded to the successful and well-known music lifestyle brand Wild About Music Inc. after being acquired by partners Fred Schmidt and Shelley Meyer in 1995. After 17 years as a single-store operation, Wild About Music began to grow organically, becoming a household name in Austin and a hot spot for visitors in town. Its success led to the addition of fashion boutique Austin Rocks in 2012, followed by the acquisition of Toy Joy in 2014, and the creation of its sister sweet shop Yummi Joy in 2017. With each iteration of businesses and retail shops, ICONIC AUSTIN BRANDS has always remained dedicated to showcasing the authenticity of Austin, its artists and creative talent and to serving their patrons and growing customer base.
ABOUT TOY JOY
Toy Joy is Austin's iconic store for fun and nostalgic toys for over 33 years! Come see why we are consistently voted one of the top 10 toy stores in the world! Fun, zany, chaotic, colorful, ironic, nostalgic and collectible toys, books and games for 'kids' of all ages. Now with three locations in Austin, 403 W. Second Street, 4631 Airport Blvd and Gate 10 at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. For more information on Toy Joy, see toyjoy.com
.ABOUT YUMMI JOY
Yummi Joy is the little sister candy store of Toy Joy! We proudly feature vegan friendly scoops of locally made Sweet Ritual Ice Cream as well as over a dozen flavors of housemade fresh fudge, Texas truffles, a full espresso bar, novelty sodas, nostalgic candies, and pick and mix candy, with many vegan options. We are keeping Austin Sweet! We have three locations, our full service shop at 409 W 2nd Street, our candy shop within Toy Joy at 4631 Airport Blvd and a grab and go location at Gate 10 at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. For more information on Yummi Joy, see yummijoy.com.
ABOUT WILD ABOUT MUSIC
Since 1991, Wild About Music Art Gift and Guitar Gallery has been located in the heart of Downtown for over 29 years, bringing Austin, The Live Music Capital,
alive. Our collection of apparel, gifts, books, collectibles, artwork, guitars and ukuleles will delight music lovers and players alike. Visit us for Austin music gifts and take a little Austin home with you!
For more information on Wild About Music, see wildaboutmusic.com.
ABOUT AUSTIN ROCKS
Formed in 2012 as an extension of Wild about Music, Austin Rocks is an original lifestyle boutique featuring an eclectic Austin inspired collection of men's, women's and kid's apparel and accessories. Visit us for locally made jewelry, accessories, décor and gifts. Located in the 2nd Street district, directly across the street from Austin City Limits Live, we are an official Austin City Limits merchandise shop. For more information on Austin Rocks, see austinrockstexas.com.
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