Financial Storm Sinks Toy Boat

It had been in business for nearly 50 years, but Toy Boat! Toy Boat! Toy Boat!' is no longer afloat in Corona del Mar.

The iconic Toy Boat was, owned for the last five years by husband and wife team Mike and Lori Curtin, fell on tough economic times during the recession. Although the attempts to keep their business open worked temporarily, the couple decided to pull the plug on their beloved toy store over the weekend.

"When we locked the door on Friday, we sat and cried," Lori Curtin said in tears on Monday. "This one store just couldn't support the debt of the other stores."

A pile of debt threatened the store's survival over the summer, but the Curtins managed to keep their doors open thanks to a Cash Mob courtesy of KFI AM 640 and a Cash for Gold Fundraiser. The store located at 3331 E. Coast Highway was the couple's last hope since the closure of their other Toy Boat locations in Newport Coast, Fashion Island and Westcliff last year. Lori Curtin said "aggressive vendors" who wanted their money and bank loan payments looming overhead made it impossible to keep the last store in business any longer.

"The recession really affected us, and so we put everything we had into this business, but the bigger payments on the loan was the deal breaker," Curtin said. "It's not like we were making millions, it was just a nice family business. We put our heart and soul in it, but it wasn't enough."

Newport Beach Councilwoman Nancy Gardner, who represents Corona del Mar, said she was saddened to see Toy Boat close its doors.

"The disappearance of any unique business takes away from the village," Gardner said. "For me, it was great to be able to shop locally for presents for my grandchildren."

While many other shoppers like Gardner have fond memories of the toy store, Lori Curtin said she also has lifelong memories of the community that stuck with Toy Boat through the storm.

"This was a definitely a group effort," Lori Curtin said. "The community's support kept us going and moving forward. Without them, we might have closed long ago."

There are currently no plans in the works to reopen Toy Boat.