In the run-up to Halloween 2018, Party City is again in the market for 250 to 300 spaces to house its temporary Halloween City stores. This year, however, the company hopes to fill a gap in the market left by the closing of Toys ‘R Us by also creating about 50 pop-up toy stores in advance of Christmas.

The Toy City concepts will be housed in the same temporary space as the Halloween City locations. For the 50 or so combined Toy City-Halloween City locations, Party City’s lease terms on the 12,000 square-feet they seek extend to 6 months, which the company hopes will provide it with higher-grade real estate options.

The company plans to split each space between the Halloween and Toy City concepts until October 31, after which it will move the Halloween merchandise out so that Toy City takes over for the remainder of the season.

Party City is positioning this year’s Toy City effort as a pilot, leaving the door open for expansion in 2019. According to Chain Store Guide’s Retail Locations Database, Party City currently operates 867 permanent stores in the US.