Colaianni, who had been a spokesman for the store, did not return calls or emails for comment. He told GlobeSt.com in August that the new company planned to open 19 stores in five years, and up to 120 stores nationwide. Former Toys R’ Us president Bruce Hall is on the Wonder! board of directors.

However, the company had already seen a problem in raising funds to open in late 2010, and had to delay the opening by a year. In early February 2012, a number of contractors reportedly sued Wonder! for not paying more than $275,000 in costs to remodel the former Sears-owned property.

The store had an extensive social marketing push, with email lists and the Facebook page trying to draw in customers. The property may have had too grandiose plans, however, as it had promised to feature an enormous amount of children’s products, including more than 100 varieties of strollers, and walkabout purchasing from associates with tablet computers. Colaianni had said a big draw was to be a 7,000-square-foot play area, basically an indoor park, as well as party rooms and a coffee bar. “Think of it as Cabela’s for kids,” he said in August.