Eight years after closing its doors, the Tri-Cities will soon once again have a place where a kid can be a kid. 

Retailer Toys R Us will soon open a new store at Columbia Center mall, according to a social media post from the Simon Malls company. The store will be located inside the mall between Dick’s Sporting Goods and Macy’s and next door to Lululemon, according to the mall’s locator map. Hiring for the Kennewick store is underway. 

Information on when the toy store will open was not immediately available.  

Last year Toys R Us announced plans for flagship stores and seasonal holiday shops featuring an assortment of the season’s most popular brands, from LEGO and Barbie to Hot Wheels, NERF and Paw Patrol. 

Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017, collapsing under billions in debt from a 2005 private-equity buyout, according to Yahoo News. The following year, it closed more than 700 stores, including the Kennewick location, marking the end of an era for American toy retail. 

Tru Kids Brands bought the brand in 2018 and experimented with boutique-style stores before selling a controlling stake to WHP Global in 2021. That led to a  Macy’s partnership, which brought Toys R Us mini shops inside hundreds of department stores.  

Beginning last fall, a new effort with Go! Retail Group led to the opening of stand-alone stores that were closer to the feel of its glory days.