A New Fry's in town

For all of you living in the Sacramento area (or planning on a visit in the near future) there is a new "toy store" a few miles from us. We recently got the notice in the mail of their grand opening so I decided it was worth a visit.

Like all the other Fry's Electronics stores I've been in, this one has a distinctive decor - trains. The theme is easily identified as you approach the front door, above which is what appears to be a runaway engine breaking through the cement and stucco. Very well done.

The effect continues inside when it appears you're walking along railroad tracks which take you to the various sections of the store.

And above the cashiers, heading toward the exit is the back part of the train that you saw coming into the store.

I would have taken more picture had a young, pimply-faced, nerd-looking man with a Fry's name tag not accosted me with a warning that picture taking is not allowed in the store. They must worry about industrial spies planning to copy their interior decorating ideas.

As far as the store goes, it appeared to be well laid out, aisles well labeled, and shelves well stocked. Some of the sales people seemed to go out of their way to not make eye contact or encourage customer questions but they did respond when asked. The store is too new to have much "personality" but I expect that will come. Like the rest of the chain, the biggest drawback appears to be their reliance on rebates for almost all their specials.