Along with its 25th anniversary, this year Mountain Top Toys is also celebrating becoming the newest addition to the Learning Express Toys family. Mountain Top Toys owners Patrick and Joanna Holland recently purchased the local franchise of Learning Express, the leading national retailer of specialty toys.
The Signal Mountain residents, who bought Mountain Top from former owner Karen Dolmovich in 2013, took over operation of the Learning Express store in North Chattanooga in August. They plan to keep Mountain Top open, with a slight name change: Mountain Top Toys: A Learning Express Store.
"It's been very rewarding for me for the past four years," Patrick Holland said of his experience owning Mountain Top and acquiring knowledge of the toy industry. "I felt I wanted to do a bit more."
Since Mountain Top and Learning Express both serve customers who appreciate hard-to-find or education-focused toys, he thought the best way to expand would be to purchase the franchise.
He said Mountain Top and Learning Express customers won't see any big physical change in either store, but both stores will have some new items in stock. Customers will also have the convenience of being able to order toys stocked at one location and have them available at the other store within a day, as well as to use their Learning Express gift cards at either location.
Mountain Top Toys: A Learning Express Store is at 1231 Taft Highway and can be reached at 886-6943. The Chattanooga location of Learning Express is at 313 Manufacturers Road and can be reached at 643-8697.