New Children's Store Aims at Fun, Affordable Items

Parents. You don’t have to despair anymore.

There is a new children’s clothing and toy store in town, offering everything from cute, flouncy dresses to shoes, puzzles and stuffed toys, all at affordable prices.

Located at 123 Kentucky Street, Choo-Choo’s opened in late April and is owned by a former employee of Crackerjax, the children’s clothing store previously on the corner of Western Avenue and Kentucky. 

The woman behind the new business is 36-year-old Ling Qu, who recently immigrated from China and who has big dreams for the store.

“With Target opening soon, I wanted to make sure I offered something different, so I’m focusing on a lot of European and South Korean designers,” said Qu, pronounced "Choo".

Qu, who previously worked as a director of human resources in China, initially wanted to take over Crackerjax as the previous owner prepared to close the popular store. But eventually she settled on a new location, which she has stocked with Lelli Kelly sandals, Geox shoes, colorful summer dresses, sun hats and more.

To afford the pricey rent, Qu is sharing the space with Jacquelyn Bruni, owner of The Warrior Mouse, who sells Native American jewelry and art.

“When I worked at Crackerjax and people came in, they would always tell me that they were sad it was closing; that there was no other store for kids,” Qu said. “So I realized there was a big demand for this in Petaluma.”

Choo-Choo’s is located at 123 Kentucky Street in downtown Petaluma.