A locally owned vintage toy and collectibles shop has packed up and moved across the street, adopted a new name, and set its sights on turning a stretch of Broadway into a vintage shopping destination. Beach Boys Toys has relocated to 2020 Broadway, taking over the former First Autos offices, and rebranded as Beach Boys Toys Vintage Mall, with a soft opening set for Wednesday.
The move puts the shop directly in the orbit of Toad Hall Books & Records, the secondhand media institution that has anchored the block since 1980. According to Rock River Current, owner Jeramy Beach plans a full grand opening in late spring, when he intends to start hosting regular outdoor markets. The new space will include its own lineup of collectibles alongside additional sellers of action figures, physical media, clothing, memorabilia and other goods.
Toad Hall owner Nick Naruz has his own piece of the puzzle. The same report notes he bought the former auto offices and the lot next door to his business in mid-October, positioning him as a neighbor-turned-landlord in the emerging arrangement. Naruz and Beach have taken to calling the area the Vintage Rock Block, with Naruz saying he hopes Broadway becomes a vintage corridor and Beach saying he hopes the area becomes a destination for vintage shoppers.
A New Home With Room for Small Sellers
Beach Boys Toys previously operated at 2017 Broadway, next door to Screw City Vintage, which closed on Sept. 6, per the same account. The vintage mall concept is designed to give smaller sellers a foothold, offering cases, shelf space and rooms for rent rather than requiring them to open a storefront of their own.
The vendor-mall format already has a substantial foothold in the Rockford area. In Loves Park, Hidden Treasures Mall & Antiques says its 37,000-square-foot marketplace has more than 360 vendor spaces and has served the area since 2014. The regional tourism bureau also lists more than 90 dealers at East State Antique Mall in Rockford. Beach’s smaller Broadway operation would bring that multi-seller approach to a walkable block anchored by established shops.
Vendors renting shelf space will restock their displays multiple times a week, the report notes. The setup offers smaller sellers a low-cost way to show merchandise to shoppers, and Beach said it can help those sellers grow and even envision opening their own businesses someday.
Naruz, meanwhile, said he is in talks with another vintage clothing store to fill the space Beach Boys Toys vacated — a sign that turnover on the block could continue even as the new anchor tenant settles in.
Toad Hall's Decades on Broadway
Toad Hall has been in business since 1973 and has operated from its current 2106 Broadway address since 1980, making it one of the stretch's most established fixtures. It is known for its sprawling collection of records, used books and other physical media, a reputation that predates the vintage mall concept by decades.
Beach Boys Toys Vintage Mall is set to run 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, opening at 10 a.m. on Saturdays. Whether the Vintage Rock Block becomes the destination Naruz and Beach are hoping for depends on whether their broader plans, including the late-spring markets, come together as envisioned.
The plan for outdoor markets also fits a regional calendar already built around vintage shopping events. The biannual Vintage Shop Hop typically involves hundreds of antique stores, boutiques and shops across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The tourism bureau also highlights Pec Thing, an indoor-outdoor flea market at the Winnebago County Fairgrounds with more than 500 vendors—evidence that vintage retail in the region extends well beyond permanent storefronts.
