By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Dina Berger, owner of Age of Reason toy store, which will close April 30 after 41 years, is not a typical retailer — and her store is not an ordinary toy store.

The shop, located since 1983 at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Post Road West, began selling science-related toys and games when not many other toy stores did.  

“The challenge was to find scientific toys,” Berger said. “The toy market then was much smaller than it is today.”

It all began when Berger, an environmental lawyer, and her husband, a physician, became concerned that the world was becoming more technological and harder to understand, especially for children. “Children should feel comfortable in a modern world,” she said.

So they worked on a dream to make scientifically based toys available for children in Westport, where they lived. They took the money they had put aside for remodeling their kitchen and opened a toy store instead.

“I knew nothing about retail. We were just ordering toys and filling our shelves,”

Berger mused in a recent interview at the store, where merchandise is discounted for the close-out sale. 

She laughed recalling their first day of business when a representative of the cash register company came to help them set it up and, eyeing the empty cash register, asked her where the money was. “We thought the money would be coming from customers, not us,” Berger said, “until he said, ‘You might need to make change.’ ”

Age of Reason flourished in Westport, and the couple also operated the gift shop at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk for 16 years. The store’s reputation even prompted toy developers to ask the Bergers for ideas and input about new toys, she said.

But times are different now. Toys are sold in all kinds of stores, she said, including discount stores, drug stores and even some clothing or furniture stores. Westport also has two other toy stores now.

And costs of doing business have risen as well, Berger added. “It’s a hard business. … There’s a lot of shipping now, and the cost of shipping is outrageous.”

Plus, it’s harder to hire people to staff the store, although she’s had some dedicated workers over the years, Berger said.

One of them is Kristan Nash, a retired children’s librarian from the Westport Library who has been helping Berger close the store.

“Dina is wonderful to work with, and we have wonderful customers,” Nash said.

It may seem surprising the store has done so well in a location near a busy downtown intersection, known for frequent traffic tie-ups where parking is often scarce. The store has operated in several different spots on the same block over the years, and Berger said there were good reasons for remaining there.

She chose to open Age of Reason on that block because it was near the Westport Library, which was formerly in a building where Starbucks and Bond Vet, a veterinary clinic, are now located — just over the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen bridge. The YMCA was also nearby in the center of town, where Bedford Square is today. Both the library and YMCA would likely draw children and their parents to the store, Berger reasoned.

And, unlike some shoppers today who dislike more than a short walk to their destination, Berger expected Age of Reason customers would find the walk across the bridge from downtown’s main parking lots to be pleasant — and they did.

She also liked the atmosphere and culture of that particular corner of Westport, she added. “This area always had unique shops,” she said, “one-off stores, not chains.” Plus the rent for stores located at the Riverside/Post Road intersection is less than on Main Street, she said.

But for Berger, the time is right to close her store and leave the toy business behind.

Long-time customers, many of whom have become friends, have been stopping by to say they’re sorry to see the store close, Nash said. And she is sorry, too.

“I have shopped here ever since my kids were little. … I brought my children and grandchildren here,” Nash said. “I love this store — it’s always been the magical toy store to me.”

Berger may be closing shop, but she wants her customers from over the years to remember the philosophy behind the Age of Reason toy store, even after it is gone.

“Learning is a fun process,” said Berger, the mother of three children and the grandmother of six. “Learning should be fun.”

Age of Reason hours until the store closes are: Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The store is closed on Mondays. All merchandise in the store is on sale at 30 percent off original prices. Call 203-557-3772.

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Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.