Brookline Hub

“I always loved puzzles and games,” David Leschinsky, owner of Coolidge Corner’s board game and mindbender store Eureka!, said in between advising and chatting with customers eager to purchase items for friends and loved ones.

It seemed most of the shoppers who were greeted by Leschinsky and his two sales associates needed a bit of guidance in figuring out just the right present—based on age and interest—when I stopped by the shop on a recent weekday morning.

“When I was a child, I wanted to stay inside and play boards game,” Leschinsky—middle-aged with a young, inquisitive face—continued, as he straightened a toy near the store’s side window. He went on to explain that after attending college and working in the high-tech industry, where he essentially played with high-tech gadgets, a chance encounter lead him on a new, if not entirely dissimilar path.

He was on vacation when he walked into a store with just jigsaw puzzles, which floored him. As a result, he started to research creating a business plan for a game store. He eventually decided on Brookline and Coolidge Corner.

In 2004, the Brookline proprietor set up a small retail display in the former Cinemasmith (on Harvard Street, where Verizon now has a store), for six months, and received a great customer reaction. Soon, he opened Eureka! in the alleyway on Beacon Street, next to Party Favors, and in 2006 moved to the current location, across the street facing right out on Beacon.

Eureka!’s unique quality comes from the niche market it occupies—toys and puzzles—its range of merchandise (from double-sided wooden puzzles of city scenes and fine art puzzles to a human calculator magic trick and a balloon-powered hovercraft), and its knowledgeable staff. During the time I was in the store, Leschinsky and his employees never seen fazed—and in fact rapidly provided answers—when fielding customer questions and recommending a product.

One aspect of the store which has gained cult status in the Coolidge Corner neighborhood is the near-daily “Einstein Puzzle,” displayed on Eureka!’s side window that features a cut-out of Albert Einstein next to a cartoon-style word bubble. In the bubble, a brain-teaser is displayed, which—if solved—offers a discount on a purchase for visitors to the store. Everyone, from police officers on the local beat to schoolchildren passing by, try to solve the ever-changing riddle, Leschinsky said proudly. “They really enjoy it.”

Leschinsky and company have been proactive in helping to address hunger in Brookline, as the store is running a Holiday Raffle as part of the Feed Brookline drive to benefit the Brooklne Emergency Food Pantry. Leschinsky called the drive’s cause “a fundamental need” and a “good charity with an immediate impact and effect on what’s important.” As a member of the Brooklne business community, he said, helping out local charities provides a way to nurture the spirit of the community in all its forms.

With store-goers poking about the stacks and shelves of games, Leschinksy spoke again about the general connection Eureka! has to its customers, adding, “Everyone leaves with a smile on their face.” And you don’t have to be a master puzzle-solver to figure out why.

By Andrew Palmacci