Some store names bring back a feeling before they bring back a product. Toys R Us is one of them. For people who remember visiting as children, the name can mean excitement, possibility, and a building filled with things they wanted to take home. Now the brand is expanding its physical presence again, with plans announced for additional standalone stores ahead of the holiday season. Its return raises an interesting business question: how much can customers’ memories contribute to a comeback?

I used to go to Toys R Us as a child, and I still have memories of visiting that big toy store. That is part of what makes this comeback interesting to me personally. Hearing the name again brings back something familiar. I can understand why adults who remember those visits would want to walk into a store again, perhaps this time with children of their own.

That emotional connection gives the brand an advantage. Many new retailers have to spend heavily just to introduce themselves. A familiar name already has a place in people’s minds. Customers may notice an opening, tell someone about it, or make a special trip because they remember what the store meant to them. For a returning brand, those memories can help create an audience before the doors open.

But getting people through the door once is different from earning their next visit. Parents shopping today can compare prices, check availability, and order a toy without leaving home. A recognizable sign will not remove those alternatives. The store needs to offer something that makes the trip worthwhile, whether that is discovering an unexpected product, getting helpful guidance, or giving children an enjoyable place to explore.

A toy store has a natural opportunity to make shopping feel like an experience. Children can encounter something they did not know to search for. Parents can see the size and quality of an item before buying it. A well-designed visit can become part of a family outing rather than another task to finish. That gives a physical retailer room to compete on more than convenience, provided the experience feels worth the time and money.

There is also a delicate balance between honoring the past and serving the present. Adults may arrive with memories of enormous aisles and seemingly endless choices. Their children arrive with no obligation to feel the same way. The returning business has to appeal to both. It needs enough familiarity to reconnect with longtime customers and enough relevance to earn the interest of a generation discovering it for the first time.

That is the broader lesson in the Toys R Us comeback. A beloved name gives a business a valuable starting point, but customers still judge what happens when they visit. Selection, pricing, service, and atmosphere determine whether their curiosity becomes a habit. Nostalgia can give parents a reason to bring their children through the door. What those children experience inside will determine whether they ask to come back.

In 2008, Eda and I booked a themed cruise, “Sail with Cabaret Performers,” hosted by Donald F. Smith, founder of the Mabel Mercer Foundation. Since photography had long been a hobby of mine, I brought my camera along to capture the sights along the way, including Barcelona’s magnificent architecture. I also found myself taking plenty of candid shots of the performers as they relaxed and mingled during our days at sea.

When I showed the photographs to Donald, he said, “These are so great, you should come to the Cabaret Convention and do this backstage.”

Backstage! The very word had always held a special fascination for me. So, without hesitation, I happily traded my seat in the audience for a place behind the scenes. What began as a suggestion on a cruise in 2008 became a passion that has continued ever since, where Eda & I got to see many favorites and be introduced to new and exciting singers.

For me, it has always been to witness and capture “how the magic happens.” Backstage, rehearsals, sound checks, invited dress rehearsals, active hallways…all of it! Those are the real excitement for me. It probably began when my first piano teacher, Dave Roberts, who was a staff musician at CBS and NBC, invited this 13-year-old student to tag along and watch some TV musical show rehearsals in the ‘50s.

At 16, I landed a summer job at ABC delivering “teletype” messages to the executives. The job had its perks. It also gave me opportunities to sneak into rehearsals and watch the creation unfold.  The ‘60s found me one night at the Copacabana, backstage, with my musical hero Buddy Greco. During the summers and college vacations, I worked as a pianist in the Borscht Belt, located in the Catskills, where my living quarter was a small room tucked away backstage. Touring entertainers often asked to use my modest space as a place to change before their performances. After all, these hotels had nothing resembling the dressing rooms we associate with show business today.

For the young me, the excitement was dizzying. I found myself chatting with some of the biggest stars of the day as they dressed and prepared to take the stage. Those backstage encounters were unforgettable— Billy Eckstine once even borrowed my tie and Jackie Mason would ask me what jokes the comic who appeared the previous night had told!

Today, and many cameras later, I’m delighted, and proud, to share with you a glimpse of the magic unfolding behind the scenes at this year’s 37th New York Cabaret Convention.

MARILYN MAYE

MARILYN MAYE & TEDD FIRTH

TOVAH FELDSHUH

TOVAH FELDSHUH

MARILYN MAYE & CLINT HOLMES

MARILYN MAYE & CLINT HOLMES

PHILIP OFFICER

SIDNEY MYER

JEFF HARNAR

BARBARA BRUSSELL

AMANDA McBROOM

MOIPEI

AVERY SOMMERS

KAREN AKERS & STACY SULLIVAN

RITT HINN & JOHN WEBER

EDA SOROKOFF & KT SULLIVAN

JEFF HARNAR & ANDREA MARCOVICCI

ANDREA MARCOVICCI & JEFF HARNAR

TOVAH FELDSHUH

TOVAH FELDSHUH

PHILIP OFFICER

MARILYN MAYE

MARILYN MAYE

MARILYN MAYE & JASON MARTIN

STEPHEN SOROKOFF, TOVAH FELDSHUH, MARILYN MAYE, CHARLES BUSCH

TOVAH FELDSHUH, MARILYN MAYE, CHARLES BUSCH

STAGE RIGHT

AMANDA McBROOM & CLINT HOLMES

CHARLES BUSCH, MARILYN MAYE, TOVAH FELDSHUH

STEPHEN SOROKOFF & DONALD F. SMITH, CABARET CONVENTION 2008

STEPHEN SOROKOFF & BUDDY GRECO, BACKSTAGE COPACABANA 60’S

The performances weren’t mailed in and the candidates certainly didn’t disappoint, entertaining voters with a rousing selection of patriotic favorites that had everyone singing along at the regular Tuesday lunch of The Dutch Treat Club.  Tuesday October 13th also happened to be the first night of the Cabaret Convention and club President KT Sullivan wanted to prove that we still have something to sing about in her new show called “This Is My Country: A Celebration of America’s 250^th,” and prove it she did.

Entertainment Chair, Raissa Katona Bennett, introduced Ms. Sullivan, noting that in addition to the being the President of Dutch Treat, she is also the Artistic Director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation: and KT chose to present this program on the same day as the opening night of the 37^th Annual Cabaret Convention which was some “crazy” feat! But KT is no stranger to challenges, having starred on Broadway in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and at Irish Repertory Theatre in Love, Noël with Steve Ross. For more than two decades, she headlined at the Algonquin Hotel’s Oak Room and now performs regularly at Birdland, Don’t Tell Mama, and 54 Below in New York, as well as Crazy Coqs in London.

Accompanying herself on the piano, Ms. Sullivan led the friendly crowd in many sing-a-longs including “This Land is Your Land”, “As Time Goes By” and “America the Beautiful” to name a few, delighting the crowd with her wit and her historical knowledge. She also accompanied her brother-in-law, Bob Downey, who possesses a rich, booming baritone and affable manner, on “This is My Country”. Other Sullivan family members were also in attendance, to cheer them on: KT’s brother Pat, sister-in-law Suzanne, and the ever luminous Elizabeth Sullivan, matriarch of the “Singing Sullivans”.

Then piano virtuoso, Mark Janas, who has conducted the Broadway tours of Les Miserables and who was a protégé of Leonard Bernstein, came to the piano to accompany several Dutch Treat members that KT had requested perform. First up, was Corinna Sowers Adler who sang a gorgeous and moving version of “Anthem” from the musical Chess, in her signature clarion soprano. Corinna is a 2026 Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Vocalist and Educator and a 2015–2025 nominee for the Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award. She has also received MAC and BroadwayWorld Award nominations for Best Vocalist. Corinna has headlined at venues such as: Feinstein’s/54 Below, The Green Room 42, and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room. She is the founding Artistic Director of NiCori Studios & Productions, along with her husband, DT Board Member Nicholas Adler, who was in attendance today.

Next, award-winning singer-pianist, Eric Yves Garcia introduced his selection “The House I Live In”, with a very personal connection to it explaining how, as the descendant of several generations of Italian immigrants, the song held special meaning to him. Garcia, who performs regularly in London and Paris, is a recipient of the Margaret Whiting Award, a Bistro Award for Singer-Instrumentalist, and the Donald F. Smith Award, presented at Jazz at Lincoln Center. His New York appearances include Carnegie Hall, 54 Below, Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Café Carlyle.

KT chose Raissa Katona Bennett to perform “Take Care of This House” by Leonard Bernstein, from the short-lived Broadway show, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But first, KT shared that the inspiration for the song, came directly from a letter written by John Adams to his wife, which made the selection all the more significant. In her warm soprano, Katona Bennett, who appeared as Christine Daaé in Broadway’s The Phantom of the Opera, and in Chess in Concert, as well as the First National Tours of Cats and Parade, shared a moving arrangement created by Mark Janas and Miles Phillips, pairing the song with “Children Will Listen” from Into The Woods.  You could hear a pin drop during her impassioned performance and there were several tears shed as the lyrics resonated even more so today, probably than when the song was written – a few of those tears came from the singer herself. With Janas at the keys, KT took to the “stage” and delivered a hilarious version of Sheldon Harnick’s “Boston Beguine” from Broadway’s New Faces of ’52. As delightful as it is to have KT at the keys, it is always a special treat to see her in all her glory, commanding a stage like no one else can! BOB DOWNEY, MARK JANAS, RAISSA KATONA BENNETT, KT SULLIVAN, CORINA SOWERS ADLER, ERIC YVES GARCIA KT SULLIVAN RAISSA KATONA BENNETT CORINNA SOWERS ADLER ERIC YVES GARCIA BOB DOWNEY NANCY McGRAW MARK JANAS SING ALONG KT SULLIVAN, BOB DOWNEY, ELIZABETH SULLIVAN EDA SOROKOFF & ELIZABETH SULLIVAN NICOLAS ADLER & CORINNA SOWERS ADLER JERRY JOHNSON & BONNIE ROSEMAN

A busy restaurant can look like a successful restaurant. Orders keep coming in, employees keep moving, and delivery drivers keep leaving with food. But activity does not tell the whole financial story. Domino’s reported stronger quarterly earnings on October 13, while CEO Joe Jordan told Barron’s that customers were buying fewer items per order, putting pressure on franchisees’ profitability. � That combination reveals a challenge many business owners recognize: attracting customers is only part of building a profitable business.

barrons.com

The distinction matters because company results and individual restaurant results measure different things. Domino’s earns revenue through several channels, including supplying its franchise network and collecting royalties. A franchise owner has to make the economics work inside a particular store. Stronger earnings at the parent company do not automatically mean every operator has more money left after expenses. The customer’s purchase needs to generate enough income to support the work required to fulfill it.

Smaller orders can make that harder. A customer might still buy a pizza while skipping a drink, dessert, or side. The restaurant keeps the transaction, but loses some of the revenue that would have accompanied it. Meanwhile, taking the order, preparing it, packaging it, and coordinating collection or delivery still require effort. Some costs fall with the size of the purchase. Others change much less. When the average order shrinks, a business may need more transactions just to achieve the same financial result.

Discounting adds another layer to the decision. A promotion can give a price-conscious customer a reason to choose one restaurant over another. It can also reduce what the business earns from the purchase. That does not make discounts a bad strategy. Their value depends on what happens afterward. Does the offer bring in an additional customer, encourage a larger purchase, or build a repeat relationship? An increase in orders becomes more useful when the owner understands how those orders contribute to profit.

Consider a hypothetical restaurant whose average order falls from $25 to $20. At 100 orders, sales drop from $2,500 to $2,000. It would need 125 orders to recover the original sales total, assuming the average purchase stays at $20. That is 25% more orders, each requiring fulfillment. Even matching the previous revenue would not guarantee matching the previous profit, because the additional transactions could create more packaging, payment processing, delivery, or staffing costs.

The same issue appears outside restaurants. A retailer can increase transaction counts while customers purchase fewer products. A service company can win more bookings while buyers choose smaller packages. Owners need to examine customer volume alongside average purchase value and the costs associated with each sale. Improving the result might mean offering a useful bundle, making relevant additions easier to purchase, simplifying fulfillment, or adjusting a promotion. The right choice depends on what customers value and where the business actually earns its margin.

Domino’s situation is a reminder to look beyond the visible signs of demand. Winning another order matters, but the amount that order contributes matters too. A business can grow busier without growing financially stronger. Sustainable growth comes from understanding what customers spend, what serving them costs, and how much remains to support the business after the sale is complete.

Columbus Day? No thanks. Israel Day? Pass. September 11? Suddenly, attendance is a sacred obligation. Welcome to selective representation, City Hall style.

New York City has a mayor with an interesting interpretation of public service. Apparently, representing eight million people comes with an asterisk: some traditions are worth showing up for, while others can make do with a social media video and a carefully worded explanation.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s latest disappearing act came at the Columbus Day Parade, where generations of Italian Americans have gathered along Fifth Avenue to celebrate their heritage. The marching bands marched, the flags waved, the politicians smiled, and the mayor was conspicuous by his absence.

One can only imagine the scheduling conflict. Perhaps City Hall had an emergency meeting on the proper way to avoid a parade.

Mamdani’s feelings about Christopher Columbus are hardly a state secret. In 2020, he posted a photograph of himself making an obscene gesture toward a Columbus statue in Astoria, accompanied by the declaration, “Take it down.” A charming bit of statesmanship, particularly from someone who would eventually become the city’s chief representative.

Columbus is a controversial historical figure, and there are substantial reasons to challenge the sanitized version of his legacy. But Italian Americans did not spend generations building neighborhoods, businesses, churches, cultural institutions and political movements in New York simply to have their annual celebration reduced to a referendum on a 15th-century navigator. The parade is also about them. That distinction seems to have escaped the mayor.

Instead of appearing in person, Mamdani released a video celebrating Italian American Heritage Month, praising figures such as Fiorello La Guardia and Vito Marcantonio. In other words, he was perfectly happy to celebrate Italian-American history once he had selected which Italians were acceptable. How wonderfully convenient. Heritage, apparently, is best enjoyed à la carte.

This was not an isolated exercise in selective attendance. Mamdani also skipped the Israel Day Parade, another longstanding Fifth Avenue tradition. His criticism of the Israeli government is well established, and he is entitled to it. But New York’s Jewish community is not the Israeli cabinet, just as the Italian-American community is not Christopher Columbus.

A mayor ought to understand the difference between recognizing a community and endorsing every political or historical association attached to its celebration. Instead, the message increasingly resembles a municipal popularity contest. Some communities get the mayor. Others get the mayor’s explanation for why they didn’t.

Then came September 11.

When a petition opposing Mamdani’s attendance at the 25th anniversary memorial drew more than 100,000 signatures, the mayor suddenly discovered a principle worth defending. Despite objections from critics, including former Governor George Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, he attended, describing his responsibility to honor the victims and first responders as a sacred obligation. On that point, he was right.

A mayor should attend the September 11 memorial. The ceremony belongs to the city, not to a political faction, and no elected official should be excluded because of his religion. Anti-Muslim attacks directed at Mamdani were reprehensible and did nothing to strengthen legitimate criticism of his administration.

But here is where the mayor’s reasoning begins to resemble a Broadway farce, except nobody is laughing.

When citizens object to his presence at Ground Zero, attendance becomes an obligation of office. When he objects to the associations surrounding other communities’ celebrations, attendance becomes a matter of personal discretion. How does that work, exactly?

Does the mayoral oath come with a footnote explaining that civic duty is mandatory only when it aligns with the mayor’s convictions? Is there a secret City Hall chart separating traditions into categories marked Sacred Obligation, Political Inconvenience and Please Accept This Video Instead?

To be fair, Mamdani has attended other parades. No mayor can appear at every event in a city that seems capable of staging a procession for almost anything. But when the events being missed are politically sensitive ones, the public has every right to question the pattern.

That is the disturbing part. Not that a politician has opinions. Not that he questions Columbus or opposes the policies of Israel’s government. It is the apparent ease with which his personal political judgments become the filter through which communities receive recognition from the office of mayor.

New York is not a private club. City Hall is not an ideological guest list. The mayor is not the master of ceremonies for only those New Yorkers whose politics he finds agreeable. If he wants to govern a city this diverse, he must occasionally stand beside people with whom he disagrees. He can do so without surrendering his principles. That is not hypocrisy. That is leadership.

The hypocrisy begins when he demands that others respect the responsibilities of his office while treating those same responsibilities as negotiable when they become uncomfortable. There is a certain theatrical brilliance to it: the mayor who insists he must show up when people don’t want him there, yet cannot quite manage to show up when people do.

New York elected a mayor, not a cultural customs inspector. The job description does not read: Represent all New Yorkers, provided their traditions pass your personal approval process.

If Mamdani wants to be the mayor of the entire city, he should start behaving like it. Otherwise, perhaps City Hall should save everyone some confusion and put the fine print on the door.