Cooleykatz Toys

My daughter’s favorite store! Our family loves going in every time we are downtown. The owners are so nice and you can tell they really care about their business and their customers. For a little store they have a TON of inventory for children of all ages. They offer free gift wrapping, birthday bucket registry and music lessons.

What a find! This is a wonderful family-​owned toy store with a wide selection of children’s toys for all ages. Many are made in the USA, which seems rare (but very desirable to me) for toys nowadays.
All the great oldies are here — whoopie cushions, slinkys, silly putty, gumby — along with excellent newer toys. It was refreshing to browse dozens of toys with very little franchise branding in sight. Friendly owners, as well.
Let’s keep these stores in business!

Wonderful toy store and friendly staff. I love that Santa visits the store and you can take your own pictures with Santa for free.

We come to Cooleykatz Toys several times a year. It is our toy store of choice for everything from birthday presents to Christmas shopping to going there «just because.»
Cooleykatz is a throwback to the toy stores of a few generations ago. It straddles 2^nd and 3^rd Streets in downtown Livermore on the same block as a dance academy and a Yoga studio. Which is wonderful, because we let our kids press their noses against the glass to watch the fox trotting dancers or the sweating Bikram yogis before heading over to look at toys.
Once inside the store, we set our munchkins free — free to explore games, musical instruments, and stuffed animals to their hearts content while my wife and I shop for gifts, browse for future gift ideas, or chat with the owners — Pat and Nita Cooley.
The selection at Cooleykatz is not as extensive as you’d find at a big box retail store, but the Cooleys make up for it with the uniqueness of their offerings. And while the prices can be a tad higher, they more than make up for it with their warm and personal service and their wrapping.
Yes, that’s what I said — wrapping.
Because watching the Cooleys wrap up the presents you pick out is an experience in itself. They have several wrapping paper designs you can choose from, as well as different color ribbons. And then they lovingly and carefully wrap up the presents for you, including tying the ribbons and curling up the ends with the edge of their scissors! I admit it, I shop here just so I can watch them wrap. And because their stellar presentation and attention to detail makes even the most mundane gift stand out from the crowd.
So come on over to downtown Livermore, drag yourself past the sweating Bikram yogis and the fox trotting dancers and walk into Cooleykatz — a toy store that will take you back in time.

Definitely coming back here to buy more toys for the kids in the rest of my family. They even gift wrapped my gifts for me.

Wonderful people and an incredible variety of awesome toys make this store the absolute best. Cooleykatz is wall-​to-​wall and floor-​to-​ceiling toys, toys and more toys.
And we’re not talking cheesy plastic stuff that you’d find at chain stores, but honest-​to-​goodness hands-​on toys that hold a child’s interest and keep them entertained as they learn while they’re having fun.
I admit I was unsure what to choose for a one-​year old. Pat and Nita were incredibly helpful and assisted me in making the right selection. They really know their toys, and they REALLY know kids. Thanks to them, my grand-​niece has a toy that she is absolutely thrilled with and doesn’t want to put down. She couldn’t wait to play with it! It’s her go-​to, and now I know exactly where to find the perfect gift for a youngster that’s not only fun, but educational as well.
Regardless of where you are in the Bay Area, Cooleykats is worth the trip to Livermore. I’ll definitely shop there again.

This is one of the best locally owned toy stores that I know of! The owners are so dedicated, helpful, and match outfits almost everyday! So sweet!
Their toy selection is outstanding! Something for everyone, old or young, and REAL toys! Not a whole bunch of video games and CD’s! It sparks that feeling from childhood, running into a toy store and knowing you could probably persuade your mom to get you «only one» toy.
They offer gift wrapping, which comes in handy when you need a quick gift AND they offer music lessons right in the store!
It’s hard to leave the store once you enter, but all worth the while! Very kid-​friendly!

A great toy shop with sweet and dedicated owners.
The selection of quality toys is top notch here. They have a great selection of board games (my weakness) and the options for my almost 8 year old is endless.
They have lots of learning toys and fun make-​believe costumes/​props for little kids.
Cooleykatz also gives music lessons in a small section of the store and during Christmas time they have Santa there and you can take pictures with him… for FREE!
For kids they have a birthday bucket and your birthday boy or girl can fill the bucket up with their favorite items for people to shop from for gifts. I love this idea.
If you have a birthday party to go to and need a cute gift I highly recommend this place as it’s not your average toy store and has many options not likely found at the big toy stores.
The owners are local and it always feels good to spend your money where it counts!

Nice owners who know toys! Decent prices and a fun place to check out the latest toys. Nice locally owned establishment that I like to buy presents for. They even gift wrap, and will let your child shop for their birthday with a Birthday Bucket that acts as a gift registry. Always awkward to tell other parents about it, but some really appreciate the no-​brainer!

I love this store! My two year old and I can spend the whole day here and not get weird looks from the owners. They know their stuff! You can tell they truly love toys.

This place makes me happy. Classic, quality and amazing toys. This is how toy store’s should be.

You walk into Cooleykatz Toys and your imagination starts kicking in in spite of itself. Lots of honest-​to-​gosh (read: non-​electronic) toys grouped by theme are piled everyplace. Immediately you want to touch or play with something. The owners are quite professional and friendly in a low-​key way and will do a fantastic job gift wrapping for you. They are highly knowledgeable and sell certain puzzles, toys or books designed by locals!
Occasionally there’s a music lesson going on in the side room, so you may hear the rote picking out a Disney tune on the piano (this could be a reason to visit during school hours.)

Filled to the brim with cool, unique toys that you can’t get at your typical Toys R Us.
It’s fun to just walk around and look at everything. I like that they carry a fair amount of wooden and organic toys. I worry about the amount of plastic that kids toys are made of because the toys always end up in their mouths. Owners are very nice and have a wealth of knowledge. When my baby is older I can see this as a fun place for her to come and pick out toys.
Yay for local businesses!

Cutest little toy shop. My son always wants to come here since he can play with he toys. Friendly staff, husband and wife. They even wrap gifts for free!

Went there to buy a few Christmas gifts. They are a mom/​pop shop and have a lot of unique tools that I don’t seem to find at ToysRUs. (Was looking for MagnaTiles and they were temporarily sold out on Amazon).
The main person working there (owner?) was helpful and friendly and helped me pick out some toys. They also wrapped did a great job with wrapping.
Was my first time there, but will definitely be back.

DISCLAIMER: THIS REVIEW IS FOR 2011 — The last time I visited the store and the LAST time I ever will. While I’ve gotten over the incident I describe below (taken from my FB page) I think it is important to share the feedback.
This note goes out; especially, to my Livermore friends.
My son often begs me to go to «the toy store in Libermore» (yes;-) Libermore… that’s how he says it.) I often oblige and allow him to look around for a while and usually buy him a little something when we are finished. After my HORRIBLE experience today, we will never return and Cooley Katz Toy Store in Livermore will NEVER get our business EVER again.
My son was playing with another little boy at the train table… My daughter was sitting in my lap while I fed her goldfish one at a time… Sounds pretty low-​key, right? Wrong…
I offer Willie and the other little boy a handful of goldfish each… to which — THE OWNER — says, «Excuse me ma’am. Can you please not feed the children in the store?» I thought to myself, «Gheesh, they’re not bears.» Shocked I said, «Um sure. I did not realize that snacks in a children’s toy store were so harmful.» I figured that would be the end of that conversation, then I heard, «Well would you like to clean up the mess?»
For the record — there was NO mess.
To this rude comment, I responded, «You have got to be kidding me… There is no mess and this is a CHILDREN’S TOY STORE… you cannot be serious.» He said, «Yes I’m serious.» I informed him he would NEVER get my business again, and I would make sure to tell everyone I knew about my experience in his store today. His response to this — «Well make sure you tell them I told you not to feed the children.»
Seriously?
I will find another «friendly» mom-​and-​pop shop in the area that cares more about customer service and less about the appearance of its ugly tile carpet… or if all else fails I’ll find the same «specialty toys» on
and pay a fraction of the price.

You would be remiss if you didn’t visit Cooleykatz if you are in Livermore. First, full disclosure: I know the owners because I used to teach with Nita Cooley. How happy I am that she followed her dream and brought downtown and the Tri-​valley, what I would consider, a truly unique toy store experience. This is the place you come to find educational, nostalgic, traditional, new, and unique toys all in one place.
They let the kids play and touch all the toys and encourage them to do so. They are very knowledgeable about what they order to sell in the store, so they can always share what they know.
The Cooleys will even wrap a toy up for you if it’s a gift – for free!
As Denise C. says, it’s a toy boutique. If you are looking to spend money on a unique gift that will last in a child’s memory, go here.

Such a great toy boutique. Love this place so much. They have an awesome selection of toys that you just cant find at bix box stores like Toysrus, Target etc.

Absolutely love this place and there are a few times when I pop in the store just because I’m in that neighborhood. The owners are always friendly and helpful and I really like that when my son is in there with me, that they’ll bring out a new toy to show him or let him play with. Toys here are much more unique and you’ll find things here that you just don’t see at toy shops like Toys R Us or KBToys.
One day when I found out that they taught music lessons here, I inquired about their piano classes for my son. The owner said that she was booked with students and had a waiting list, BUT, she pulled out a list of piano teachers in Livermore and gave me the names of a few that I might be interested in. That was so nice of her and so helpful. I greatly appreciated that.
Back to the shop itself, it’s just a great place to find an unusual gift that children will enjoy!

This is an awesome store on so many levels! We checked it out today as we had 2 birthday parties to attend. One child had a «birthday bucket» here. This is an awesome program where kids get to put what they want into a bucket and then when friends come to buy the gift (s) they get 10% off! The layout is perfect for little ones to play while mom shops. The have a *huge* selection of toys for a variety of ages. Free giftwrap too!
The most awesome part of my shopping experience was the owner helping me to my car with the bag! She could see I was juggling a 2 year old, an infant in a carseat and a diaper bag. That’s reason enough for me to shop here again!