Whether you’re a parent looking for educational and toddler-safe toys, a trading card collector looking for Pokémon or Magic: The Gathering cards or just a local kid looking to spend your allowance on a new LEGO set, Let’s Play Something has a toy for you, according to co-owners Danielle Esquibel and Priscilla Rojas.
“We do really have stuff for adults, for teens, for all ages, really,” Esquibel said.
“Even adult games and crafting sets,” Rojas added.
Let’s Play Something even has a stock of collectable action figures from the Quentin Tarantino film “Pulp Fiction” right now, but the business doesn’t have space on any shelves where they can keep them out of reach of children.
Located in downtown Centralia, the toy store was originally founded by Antoinette “Toni” and Adam Bennett, who first began selling toys online in 2010.
They eventually opened a brick and mortar location in Napavine before moving to Let’s Play Something to Centralia’s Fairway Center, then to its current downtown Centralia location — 109 N. Tower Ave. — in 2021.
Now, Esquibel, of Centralia, and Rojas, of Chehalis, are getting ready to host the toy store’s fourth anniversary celebration at its current location, with festivities planned for Saturday, March 22, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The duo met with The Chronicle at Let’s Play Something on Tuesday, Feb. 25, to talk about the toy store, their upcoming celebration and future plans.
“We have a lot going on with (the anniversary celebration). We have face painting, some arts and crafts. We’ll have some games, a raffle and some discounts going on that day,” Rojas said.
On top of the in-store discounts available on March 22, discounts will be available on Let’s Play Something’s online store on March 21.
Now managing the store, Rojas first started working for Toni at Let’s Play Something in 2019.
“Three years in, she unfortunately got diagnosed with cancer,” Rojas said.
By the time Toni received her diagnosis, Rojas was helping manage the store, and Toni continued to teach her the final details of running it.
“She taught me a lot that last year on how to manage the store and keep it going while she did her treatment, but sadly she passed away,” Rojas said. “She had a beautiful heart and soul, and she had a great vision. She loved her community. She was all about her customers, making sure they had one-on-one interactions and we weren’t just another large store where people go in and, ‘Oh the toy section’s down this aisle.’”
Toni made sure her employees were knowledgeable about the products they sold to ensure they could answer any questions customers may have had. Let’s Play Something also offers free gift wrapping.
“She did a lot to make sure that the customers that came in really feel like they’re in a mom-and-pop shop with a homey environment,” Rojas added.
Following Toni’s death in 2023, Rojas helped her husband, Adam, continue running Let’s Play Something. Though it is mainly Rojas and Danielle running the store, Adam is still involved as a co-owner.
“I loved working for her and I was more than happy to step up and help out in any way I can,” Rojas said.
Then Esquibel, who specialized in running and managing social media, marketing and events for realtors and other small businesses, started working with Rojas.
“That’s how I kind of started my journey here,” Esquibel said.
Now the duo is looking to further grow Let’s Play Something by getting more involved in downtown Centralia events.
The toy store has already hosted many events in the past, including Let’s Play Something’s annual Easter egg hunts along with Easter Bunny visits for parents to bring their children in for photos, which will be held again on Saturday, April 19.
Let’s Play Something also participates in downtown festivals such as Summerfest and the Lighted Tractor Parade, and has recently partnered to host events at both the Centralia Timberland Regional Library and The Juice Box Public House in the downtown area.
“With both of us, when we sit down for a meeting, we end up with a hundred different ideas on what we can do for the store, so we have to kind of navigate that and scale it back a bit,” Esquibel said. “But we learned a lot last year working together, and this year, our whole year is pretty much booked with all of the events that we’re going to be doing.”
Additionally, the duo is working on putting their full toy inventory online and towards shipping online sales by this Summer.
“We have thousands of items in here, so it’s taking a little time,” Esquibel said.
Currently, anything purchased online must be picked up in person in Centralia. The goal is to begin local deliveries in March and to be shipping toys by summer in preparation for the 2025 holiday season.
“We want to expand further than Lewis County. We love our community and we love being a part of here, but we definitely would like to still expand and make sure that whoever hasn’t heard of us just yet is drawn in,” Rojas said.
Let’s Play Something is currently open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
To learn more about Let’s Play Something and upcoming events being hosted there, follow the business on its Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LetsPlaySomething, call the toy store at 360-669-5982 or visit its website at https://www.shopletsplaysomething.com/ .
