Hi there, not sure if this is the right place to post but here goes...
I'm looking to set up a 'Play Cafe' in my local area and would really appreciate some feedback. I've read several posts about soft play centres but this is a little bit different and I'd be really keen to find out exactly what mums and dads want from such a café.
The plan is to open a café for under 4s with low level soft play, books, dressing up and toys. With tables in the middle so that parents can actually relax and have a coffee, confident that their child is safe and happy and in plain sight and that there are no larger kids running round. The café would serve good, healthy food plus cakes and a toddler pic n mix of healthy baby friendly foods. There would also be an outside area with toys and picnic benches and a party room for birthday parties and hired out to local child-related businesses.
I'm currently looking for premises of around 3,000 square feet but struggling to find anywhere that has enough parking (about 20 spaces) and with space for an outside area. I'm looking for an out of town location and would think about 30 children would be the maximum at one time.
Any advice or thoughts on any of this would be greatly received.
Thank you.
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Advice please - opening a Play Cafe
LadybirdsPlayCafe · 30/06/2015 21:55
Lots to think about there! 
Bittapitta - I think a pricing tier could be a good idea although I think a lot depends on how you view things. Your local soft play sounds cheaper in theory but with my 15 month old and 3 year old it would cost me £10 whereas it would be £6.50 at my café.
NurNoch - It is a pretty affluent area, I would say. The similar venture I mentioned earlier is in a similar area to mine and charges £9.50 for me and my dc. And it always seems pretty busy whenever I go. That to me is very pricey and I only go every month or couple of months because my two love it. I think the downside of this place is that it's a long way from me, the food is okay but not great and the staff are really not very friendly. The upside is that there are no older children, it has a good layout so you can see your children all the time and it's really clean.
There's also a local (ish) gymnastics club that has a under 5s session every morning which is £5 per child and £4 for siblings. It has no café, isn't particularly clean or quite frankly as safe as it could be, and it's packed all the time. I used to go there a lot with my first but it's not somewhere I could easily manage with 2.
I'm obviously not explaining myself very well. A café 'with playgroup style toys' really isn't what I have in mind. I just don't really want to give all my ideas away on a public forum 
What I'm aiming for is kind of the ultimate child-friendly, parent-friendly, breast-feeding friendly, clean, safe, fun café around! So for this, I think you would have to pay a bit more than your average nugget n chips, dirty, germ-ridden, high rise soft play centre. I appreciate they're not all like this, but the ones near me are. I think someone asked why they're not upgraded - I don't think they really care to be honest. Much of the issue is cleanliness, a friend went to one recently and saw a toddler be sick in the ball pool. They closed it for 5 minutes, wiped a few of the balls with a wipe then opened it again. And I don't mean spit up, but properly 'probably has a virus' type of sick. They have plenty of custom with older kids so why change.
I am also aware that there is someone in my area trying to do the same thing as me, so I have some competition!
We have a lovely soft play close to us, which is similar to what you describe. It's inside a park (in a pavilion), and has an enclosed outdoor area which they only set up in summer. The outdoor area has lots of climbing frames (the plastic little tykes type), rides ons and an awesome little train on a track. Indoors there is a bouncy castle, a big ballpit with soft play shapes, a couple of toy kitchens, lots more ride-ons, buckets full of toys like trucks, musical instruments etc, and a blocked off corner with soft mats for the little ones.
They charge £4.50 for the first hour, and then about another £1 per extra hour (you pay the remainder when you leave) . Under 1 year is just £1 for as long as you like. I'm happy to pay that amount for DD now (2.5 years), and it was fine when she was under 1. It felt like a big jump when she turned 1, and she was just walking but not really big enough to take advantage of all the bigger things, so I stopped going for a while. The baby area is a bit of an after-thought though. I would have been happier to pay if there had been a more pleasant area for babies (bigger area, more age-appropriate toys, not jammed in the corner).
I drive there about once a month despite there being other soft play places within walking distance, and it being inside a park with playground (we often go to the playground afterwards). The reason I go there is because it's a really pleasant, bright environment- I hate big, gloomy warehouse soft plays, and I hate noisy places (their bouncy castle is mercifully quiet). Also, if it's sunny, it's lovely for DD to be outside, and with all the rides-ons it does feel materially different to playgrounds - so the outdoor area is definitely a big draw.
One disappointment is that it's closed on weekends. I would go more often at the weekend than during the week if it was open - since 'mummy friends' are typically with their OH, so we don't go to each other's houses. I know it's probably inconvenient, but I'd strongly suggest being open weekends and holidays.
A soft play I went to once had an organised activity most days at a specific time in the morning,which I thought was fantastic. It was included in the price: if you were there at that time you could just join in if you liked. It was simple things like singing one day; craft another. It's a simple thing to provide (since it's just for half an hour at a specific time), and it's a big draw - especially in the holidays when most groups stop.
I don't usually stay for food. I'd consider it if there was something simple DD would eat, eg a cheese sandwich (for £1 or less since I'm never sure she'll eat it, and it's depressing to pay more and have it left untouched), and a sandwich or toastie for me. But I do wonder about the whole concept of not letting people bring food for the children. Another really lovely soft play cafe I've been to DOES allow you to bring sandwiches for the little ones. I have to say that I actually spend more on food there than at other places, since I can bring sandwiches for DD which I know she'll eat, so I'm more likely to stay for lunch and buy something for myself. If I can't guarantee that I can get something DD will eat, I'm much more likely just to go home and avoid that stress.
Proper homemade cake would definitely be a draw and proper coffee (all the coffee shop options like cappuccino and latte) is also something I'll pay coffee shop prices for.
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