Play Cafe Set Up

[WhoDaresWins]

Hi,

I have been mulling over an idea for a while now to open a small coffee shop that provides a play area for under 5's as I am constantly falling over young kids when visiting my Costa . It seems that you cannot move within my local one for young Mums , prams, screaming kids, parents screeching "dont touch that " , "sorry " etc.
I think that if a 'play cafe' existed that offered good coffee, speciality teas, homemade cakes etc with a safe area that kids under 5 could use, unsupervised, with a lockable gate , lots of soft toys, dress- up clothes, train tables, ball pits and baby change facilities, pram parking area etc , possibly free wi - fi , that it would be a great business idea !
There are several of the larger coffee shops in my area, one Heritage coffee shop with a gift shop !!, but none seems to cater for young Mums. However at whatever time of the day I seem to visit these they are always crammed with the Mums brigade,and they seem to be spending on multiple coffees, juices, muffins, cupcakes, tea cakes etc.
I have seen a leasehold premises nearby that seems ideally located in a local shopping street, with easy parking and near at least 4 infant/junior schools.
At the moment it has A1 use, but it will consider other applications. Do I need A2 or A3 ?
I have approx £25 savings I can utilise, but being a single mum myself I am otherwise clueless on how to progress my idea.
I know I have to consider rent, rates, utilities, equipment, refurb, signage, fixtures, furnishings, toys, planning permission, and am putting together a business plan , but any suggestions or opinions would be greatfully received.

 

[simonjstone]

good idea, quick question though, what would you do for the customer that buy 1 coffee and sit there all day, With soft play etc etc i would feed my child and go in with my own water. with cafe's it's about having having kids enterintined. have a look for cafe on the corner in london.

the biggest bit of advice i have got from this forum is having the capital and 3 years money in reserve

 

[businessfunding]

Sit down and start working on your cashflows. Download a template for businesslink and think seriously about each section.

As has been pointed out, ypu need to be very clear on what averge spend is - perhaps spend time in a cafe and watch what people spend.

Did you actally mean that you have £25 savings? Funding this will be difficult unless you have security to offer.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Hi,
Lol, no I meant £25 K, not £25 !! That wouldnt get me very far !!

I have sat in Costa, Starbucks Caffe Nero , plus the Heritage one and 'observed'. Most of the time the Mums/Dads have had at least two cups of coffee, juice for the kids, cakes, cereal bars etc. There would also be a small charge for the child for use of the play area, around £2.50 ish seems right. As in all cafes , coffee shops etc only food bought on the premises can be consumed there.

My best friend who is also extremely interested in the business is a registered childminder and she has ideas of offering different activities, crafts etc for the children and bringing out different toys, etc on a rotating basis.

 

[I Love Spreadsheets]

The big brands probably dont do it because it is dead space as far as making money is concerned, which on today's high street is a big no no. The big question is will you take enough revenue in the seating area to cover the cost of the non-earning play area?

What about a change of emphasis - Could you make the play area the main feature so people will pay to get their kids in there and will buy a coffee while the wait for the kids to finish playing?

I did see a report last year of a child friendly hair dressers which had play areas. They made up revenue in this area by selling stuff aimed at kids as well. Fruit drinks, small toys etc. From what I recall they did very well out of it.

One question though, what about the H&S aspect of kids running around where scolding liquids are sold?

 

[businessfunding]

Just back to market research; have you done this at different times, different periods (in / out of school holidays etc?) - I'm guessing that this business will be very seasonal and time sensitive.

Other than that, you really do need to start on cashflows to understand what you need to achieve to make this a success.

 

[antoine82]

Before starting a new business model that does not exist, one should always wonder "why" this business does not exist.

It turns out that most of the time, the business does not exist because it is a bad idea.

Having said that, your idea does not sound stupid. But if you market your shop as a "children friendly" coffee, your will gain customers, that's for sure. But you will also lose customers who like enjoying their coffee in a quiet atmosphere. So the question is how many customer will you win/lose?

I also think that setting up an area prevents you from placing more tables, which means less paying customers. But if you manage to get a good surface for a small amount of money, that may be worth it.

Regarding the license, you should be fine with A1 as long as the majority of your food is cold. But this is defitnitly a grey area there. So you might ask your council.

AS for the money, £25k is not a lot. You won't go far with that. If you pay the solicitor, the deposit, the 3 months rent in advance, you won't have much left for: cooking appliances, rates, insurance, shopfitting (can be very high if you get the unit in shell condition, CCTV, communication, accountant, utilities etc etc etc.

Hope it helps!

 

[MozzComm]

propably the best way forward would be to open a 'child friendly or family friendy coffee shop' and instead of paying out extra for such facilities for children why not set mummy mornings etc with activities on for the kids?

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Thanks for all the replies - lots of advice and things to consider. I have seen a suitable premises nearby and the rent is £10 per annum. It would work very well as it is currently split into two areas, one of which would be the coffee shop and the other the play area. So the H&S issue doesnt really arise as they areas are apart and there would be security gates which would have to be opened so the kids would'nt be running around hot liquid areas.
I certainly believe that the emphasis should be on the play area, as that seems to be the USP. As far as use is concerned it would be great if the A1 permission is adequate as it would simply be coffee, teas, cakes, sandwiches etc.

Looking at the area I feel that you could accomodate at least 30 people within the cafe area and up to 30 kids in the play area.There are already toilets in situ, so would just need to provide baby changing facilities. There is also an enclosed back yard which would be useful for prams etc.

I just feel very nervous about persuing it further, as I have never done anything on such a large scale before. Any further advice greatly received !!

 

[owas]

have you thought about doing the other way round, a large play centre, maybe something like the pic below and have a section with a small cafee. That way, you could market it as both a tourist place,and local for mums to hang out, and get food etc. Setting a play jim, with a small kitchen that can cater teas, cakes, burgers etc against a fully fitted out, kitchen/cafee.
Prehaps you could find a local trades man who would for a small percentage of the retuns and a deposit of your 25k would construct the play area, leaving you cash for other parts.
We took the kids to a great one, about 30 mins form balcpool zoo, in an indus est and it was brilliant, and packed with local mums and tourists.

 

[geraintf]

These types of cafe's do already exist. search google for cafe junior, my sister takes my neice there everyweek, they both seem to love it, gives the mums a chance to chat while the kids play. Maybe you could study them for some ideas?

You need to think about who your targeting and do your research on these groups and find out what they want. Also need to put together a financial forecast of your income and costs to help you understand how many customers you realistically need to be getting to be a viable business.

 

[theduchess]

Hi 'Who dares wins!'
I just found your thread and thought I would get involved as I am in the process of starting up a similar venture. I'm writing my business plan currently and wondered how you were getting on? My idea is slightly different as it involves a small gift/toy boutique with a cafe but will be baby friendly and have a play area. I'm wondering however whether for H&S reasons I will actually advertise the fact that there is a play area as worried that parents might think it's supervised or a creche! Anyway PM me if you want and maybe we can share concerns/ help each other out!

 

[RedRite]

I am a mum of 3 kids and often visit the coffee shops locally (Costa, Nero) with my mum while my eldest one is at school. I agree it can be very busy for non parents to visit the coffee houses throughout the day.
A soft play area would be fantastic idea specially if you had say a craft hour or something around lunch time, then parents could bring the kids in for lunch and crafts and as said you would make it clear that only food bought on the premises be consumed in store, just be careful as some parents do prefer to bring their kids own drinks specially if like my youngest they still have sip cups.

Contact a company called Tumble Town in Guiseley, they ahve recently stepped into the play gym/cafe market and have done fantastically well. Providing 2 play areas one for babies and one for walkers as well as plenty of seating, they have craft days and have things like jo jingles that come in some days, as well as have local designers kids gear on display for parents to buy things when they go in. It is something that will garner you a lot of attention we parents are always looking for somewhere new and interesting for our kids to play, and I think if it was more pretend play like home and a shop you could make it educational for the kids too. As I said look up a company called Tumble town Guiseley they have managed to combine it all really well would be nice to see more like it throughout the uk.

Thanks

 

[Cobby]

Any further advice greatly received !!

Go and get a job working in a coffee shop or café. No amount of watching other customers will prepare you for dealing with the public in this situation. Besides, it'll give you insight into suppliers, stock levels, etc.

 

[Textlocal]

Absolutely brilliant idea!!! Good luck!

(having babie(s) myself, I know how valuable a good meetup place can be... somewhere that is safe, has access for pushchairs, soft play area, GOOD coffee and sandwiches, baby changing facilities).

Every town should have one - hopefully one of yours when franchised

Good luck!!

 

[deniser]

I'm not convinced that it can make financial sense as a business. Yes, the demand is there but I don't think the figures are going to stack up.

You need to start off by adding up the outgoings. The big costs apart from rent are going to be business rates, staffing, electricity and insurance. Then work out potential customer numbers, how long they will stay, how much they will spend per head.

Think also about space for prams and pushchairs which, for 30 kids, could be an awful lot. And people seem to have giant sized buggies these days, not the simple fold up strollers we used to use.

You also need to take seasons into account. In nice weather, people look for outdoor activities. In bad weather, people stay at home.

You may also need a special planning permission if it is not just going to be a cafe. And with that many people potentially on the premises, there will be more stringent fire safety regulations. I know someone who spent more than £30K satisfying the building regulations in relation to fire safety alone for a tiny shop premises.

The noise level inside is also going to be high which would put people without children from coming in.

Many coffee shops/cafes are dependent on takeaway food. Does the location have a good footfall for breakfast and lunches?