When Alicia Mahoney moved to the Royal City five years ago, she thought she was edging towards an empty nest. Her eldest, River, was graduating from high school and her daughter, Akaylah, was entering Grade 8.

“Honestly, I was planning my adult-no-children life,” Mahoney jokingly said in an interview with the Record.

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But then life happened – she got pregnant.

“I was a little shocked, but it turned out to be a blessing,” she said of now 17-month-old Jackson.

Becoming a mother for the third time, however, made her realize New Westminster was missing something “very important” – a good quality toy store.

“With teenagers, its clothes and electronics, but for the little guys, there was absolutely nothing here unless you go across the bridge to Queensborough, or out to Coquitlam to Toys R Us,” she said.

That’s when she decided to open her own – Shnoo and the Pachooch – at the Quay last fall. She knew she had a niche market because the River Market’s Pedagogy Toys had shut down in 2012. Some of Mahoney’s inspiration also came from the abundance of children’s stores on Commercial Drive, the neighbourhood she used to work and shop in prior to her business venture, as well as a Facebook group called New West Moms.

“A lot of moms were asking, ‘Where can I get this kind of toy? I don’t want to go to Toys R Us or Walmart,’ and they were getting sent out of the city,” Mahoney explained.

After some back-and-forth discussion with the River Market team, Mahoney launched the Shnoo and the Pachooch kiosk last October. She and another artisan, who was sharing the booth at the time, were then asked to move into a 100-sq. ft. retail space next door. Mahoney started operating solo at the start of this month because her colleague’s contract expired.

“The feedback’s been good,” she said. “I started out with things I would want my little guy (to have); then I thought about my niece, people I would buy for, and I just wanted quality toys.”

When shopping around for inventory, Mahoney said she looks for award-winning, eco-friendly and sustainable products, ones that “you’re not going to find in big box stores.”

Her shelves are home to bashful monkeys, checkout registers and peek-a-boo pandas. Besides toys, the New West resident is working on getting some locally-designed clothing into the mix; something she says is also missing on the shopping front.

If mothers can’t make it to the store, located at 131-810 Quayside Drive, Mahoney has set up a website (shnoopachooch.com) to order from.

“I’d like people in Canada, and even in the States, to be able to access my stuff because I know people are moving away from corporations and they’re more open to supporting small businesses,” she said.

Asked about future business plans, Mahoney said she hopes to expand but stay at the Quay.

“I thought about other areas in New West, and I just didn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s such a central location that kids come to,” she said.

As for the name Shnoo and the Pachooch, they’re nicknames Mahoney called her kids while they were growing up.