As the busiest shopping season of the year begins, A Child’s Delight, one of two independent toy stores in Napa, is about to close.

The second, Learning Faire, is going through a transition of its own. The store will soon have a new owner.

A Child’s Delight, which opened a little more than two years ago in Bel Aire Plaza, will close on Nov. 15, said owner Jonathan Meyer.

“It’s been a very hard decision for us to make,” said Meyer, who owns a second Child’s Delight in Marin County.

“We love Napa and the people that have come to our store, but there haven’t been enough of them,” he said.

Meyer will open a new store in San Rafael and needs the inventory and store fixtures from Napa. There will be no closing sale, he said.

It’s unusual for a toy store to close right before the holiday season, admitted Meyer. “But we had to make a strategic decision.”

When the specialty toy store opened in July 2006, business was strong, said Meyer. But when Ralphs Grocery store and Longs Drugs store closed and Whole Foods began construction, “It wasn’t good for us. Sales went down precipitously,” he said.

Meyer said the layout of Bel Aire Plaza doesn’t encourage cross shopping.

“There’s no pedestrian causeway that connects the whole circle of stores,” he said. The mall itself seems sleepy sometimes, he said.

“I’m used to seeing a little more bustle and atmosphere in a property like this.”

Looking back, Meyer said he isn’t sure if Napa County has enough people to support two specialty toy stores, two Wal-Marts and two Targets.

“I’m not sure. It does seem like maybe it was too much of a hurdle” to establish a new store in Napa.

“Sometimes, despite our best efforts to find the perfect fit, we don’t succeed,” said Craig Semmelmeyer, Bel Aire Plaza property manager.

A Child’s Delight “just hasn’t worked out,” he said, and “it’s in their best interest to focus on stores that will be profitable for them, and in our interest to bring in retail that folks in Napa will respond to.”

Semmelmeyer will likely divide the toy store into two spaces. The going rate for retail space at a mall is between $4 and $5 a square foot or a percentage of revenue, he said.

“But our criteria isn’t who is going to pay the most rent. We are more interested in long-term success. I’d rather work with someone with a great business plan even if I have to take less rent to begin with,” said Semmelmeyer.

“We’re not doing Quiznos, Payless and Radio Shack,” he said. “It’s not that the marketplace doesn’t need them, but we are striving to make this the favorite shopping center for all of Napa.”

Faire weather

Toy shoppers aren’t completely out of luck. The Learning Faire is celebrating its 30th year in business. At the same time, original owners Lana Stanley and Sandy Jones are selling the store.

“After 30 years we decided its time to retire,” said Jones. “We know we can’t do this forever.”

While they declined to name the new owner, Jones said the buyer owns two other toy stores in the North Bay.

“He’s young, he knows the toy business, he’s very enthusiastic and energetic,” she said, adding, “He’s very knowledgeable and has a lot of good ideas.”

Come to think about it, “He’s about the same age we where when we started the Learning Faire.”

“We’re very excited and pleased to turn it over to someone like this,” she said.

The new owner is expected to take over Nov. 1.

At the same time, the sale is bittersweet.

“It’s like sending a child off,” said Jones. “It’s hard to let go.”

“We’ve been partners for 30 years — plus we’ve had some of our employees for years. We’re like a little family.”