It's a rather chilly, gloomy June morning. In a bid to appease a housebound, restless toddler and the call of CBeebies, we've come out to our local play café. It's housed in a local church hall and only on one day a week. I discovered this morning that this is the last day it's open until September. The promise of warm weather and a truly marvellous park close by is apparently proving too much. It's poorly frequented (there are seven children here as I'm writing this) and, if I'm honest, feels rather unloved. Maybe it's the hard floor, maybe it's the stacked tables and chairs at the back which hint at the building's multi purpose use, which give a sense of the temporary and coldness. I'm sitting, watching my two year old happily bounce on the inflatable play area, sipping a hot cup of tea (a rare treat!), Baby Bear sleeping in his pram next to me and I can't help but compare it to another play café we often go to, further afield. This one is always much busier and feels rather like a large, wonderful, child friendly lounge! It has sofas and rugs aplenty. An area for ride ons, large building blocks and a mini trampoline. A dedicated baby area, with feeding pillows and baby gyms. It feels warm, cosy and 'loved'. It also helps that the staff are fantastic and know the regulars by name. The menu, although small and simple, is home made, delicious and excellent value for money, also offering "Toddler Tapas"; a pick and mix selection of healthy finger food. This café seems to be thriving, so I wonder why my local one is struggling so much.
I often sit and daydream about opening one in my area... To be honest, I don't know the first thing about running my own business, but where I live is crying out for something like this. It's working very hard to encourage independent businesses, with focus on quality. Surely I'm not the only parent who relishes a few hours of children who are happily playing, socialising and having fun, giving us weary mums and dads a few minutes to savour a hot beverage and (dare I say it...?) possibly relax just a little bit? I just wonder why this café isn't working...
What makes a good play café? Thoughts, please.
