Whitefish toy store celebrates 20 years

Not much has changed at Imagination Station since the toy store opened in 1995 in downtown Whitefish.

Sure, the retail space is larger now and the inventory more extensive — but it’s still the same classic toys lining the shelves and the same two smiling faces greeting kids as they walk wide-eyed through the front door.

Mary Witbrod and Denise Magstadt teamed up to open Imagination Station 20 years ago this month in a 20x20 space next to McGough and Co. on Central Avenue.

The Ben Franklin craft store in Whitefish had just burned down and Magstadt decided it was time to take a chance on launching a business.

“I always knew I would own a toy store,” Magstadt said.

In need of a business partner, she approached Witbrod about joining the venture. They both took out small mortgages on their homes to fund the initial $18,000 in inventory.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” Witbrod said. “My thought was that if it didn’t work out, I just wouldn’t buy a decent car for a very long time.”

Their husbands built shelves that are still used today, and they filled the store with only classic toys — no plastic. Toys included wood blocks, jack-in-the-boxes and $1,000 worth of Breyer Horses.

“That seemed like a big purchase at the time,” Witbrod said.

With 700 children at Muldown Elementary at the time, they figured there were about two birthday parties a day in Whitefish where small gifts were appropriate.

“Everybody has a birthday, so we focused on things that were less than $10,” Magstadt said.

The store opened in May and by Christmas they knew it was going to work.

That winter they moved down the street to the current Going-to-the-Sun Gallery space, and later landed at their current location after purchasing the building.

The business kept growing and in 2001, the day after 9/11, they opened a second location in Kalispell. Last year, Magstadt opened a third store in Missoula.

As the business has grown, so has the level of fun.

“It’s more fun now than 20 years ago,” said Witbrod.

“Now, the young kids that shopped here when we first opened are coming in with their own kids,” Magstadt added.

The classic toys remain their bread and butter.

“We go around to the big stores twice a year and there are no wood toys or science toys,” Witbrod said. “They have a lot of plastic stuff.”

“There’s a lot of nostalgia when shopping here,” Magstadt said. “People walk out with something they remember playing with as a kid.”

Whether it’s a Spirograph, stuffed animal, model airplane or Breyer Horse, customers are always surprised at what they find, she said.

And the reaction of a child’s face when entering the store for the first time never gets old.

“Every time a kid walks in you wish you had a video camera,” Magstadt said. “I’ll never forget one little boy that came in and yelled, ‘This is the store for me!’ The way he was gesturing, it was so cute.”

Both Magstadt and Witbrod agree they have one of the best jobs in the world.

“We made a career out of working in a toy store,” Magstadt said. “We’ve got a lucky job for sure.”

While 20 years is a nice milestone, they both want to keep going.

“We’ll keep playing and finding all the new niche toys out there,” Magstadt said.