Another big loss to our community this week: Toy Castle at the Cabin John mini-mall is going out of business after 41 years. “The combined pressures of closing for the pandemic and redevelopment of the mall have made it impossible for us to continue,” says owner Brian Mack. “We are just too old to fight these twin forces.” Mack, who has managed the business under various names since 1979, says he and wife Claire plan to retire and enjoy their grandchildren. This week, as the store’s clearance sale got underway, the couple chatted with hundreds of people who had grown up shopping there and returned with children of their own. Many had a hard time saying goodbye, but there was one customer in particular who stood out for Mack. “A little boy paid for his item, and then wanted to give my wife a $20 bill,” he says. “When she told him he had already paid, he said he wanted her to have the money for the store to stay open. It made my wife cry.”
