It's hard to miss John Taylor in downtown Brevard. The owner of several downtown Brevard businesses frequently wears a baseball cap with a propeller on top—a fitting image for a guy that owns an amazing toy store. O.P. Taylors is as much fun for adults as it is for kids—if you want a toy, he's got it in the 6,000+ square foot store that does a brisk business year round.
"It was all an accident," John grinned as he talked about how he started a toy store. "I was successful in the restaurant business and in the economic downturn of the 80s I bought the building O. P. Taylors is in now and restored it myself. It didn't rent, so I started a general merchandise store. I noticed that when women tried on clothes that they were in a hurry if they had kids, so I started putting toys outside the dressing rooms. We quickly learned that toys sold much better than clothes, and they are not seasonal. Plus they are almost recession proof—we like that!"
His accidental business mushroomed into three locations, all successful. O.P. Taylors was voted the number one toy store in the SE by Southern Living, and number one in NC by Our State magazine. Not bad for an accident!
He owns or is part owner in four other downtown businesses, Continental Divide, Tourist Trap, and a sporting goods store for serious athletes. He and partners purchased a small radio station and moved it to downtown; he enjoys hosting a talk show each weekday morning there. All the businesses are in the heart of downtown, a good thing as he is President of the Heart of Brevard downtown association.
John chose Brevard nearly 30 years ago after selling another business—he could live anywhere, but says he really likes it here, and besides, he still hasn't seen everything there is to see in the county. "We vacation here. We just get on our tour bus and drive 10 minutes to Cascade Lake and we're there," he said.
In his inimitable optimistic style, John thinks anyone considering a move to these mountains should come to Transylvania County. "There are so many natural resources that we draw people from everywhere, and the quality of life is great. We have so much going on we simply can't do it all."
