Monday: Learning Express Closes at Princeton Shopping Center

By Greta Cuyler

Learning Express at the Princeton Shopping Center will close its doors at 7 p.m. on Monday, 15 years after John Sherman and his wife opened the store as an alternative to the big box toy stores found along Brunswick Pike and the malls.

Sherman is retiring and said he tried to find a buyer for the franchise since September 2012, but there were no takers.

“It’s a blend of sadness and relief,” Sherman said of his impending retirement. “For me, always by far the most enjoyable part of the business has been working with the customers and talking with the customers and helping them find what they want and making sure they got just the right thing for the child and that’s the part I love and that’s the part I’ll miss. Doing the bills and stuff like that, I probably won’t miss that too much.”

Everything in the store is 50 percent off, although the inventory is dwindling quickly.

Sherman, who lives in Pennington, plans to spend his free time painting abstract oils and watercolors, something he’s enjoyed for the past 30 years.

He will also spend time with his three children- ages 15, 20 and 22- and find a simpler job, one that doesn’t take so many hours each week, six days a week.

The store employs mostly students, who will find other part-time jobs, Sherman said. The one other adult employee plans to take the summer off before considering her future plans.

Before opened the Learning Express, Sherman worked in marketing for a large corporation. He transitioned to a toy store because he said he wanted to have more fun at work.

In 2011, Sherman told Patch why he enjoyed operating a toy store in Princeton.

“We decided to focus on toys that were educationally-oriented but every bit as much fun as the other toys,” said Sherman. “Princeton was a good fit because people are so intellectually focused here and concerned about having toys that help their child develop an intellectual curiosity that will carry through to their adulthood. It’s also striking how international Princeton is and how people here speak so many different languages. There is a multicultural community that likes the mix of toys we have in the store.”

Anyone interested in purchasing a Learning Express franchise may contact Steve Kessel at (617) 921-2591.