New Play Cafe on Northcote Road? Post Reply

[avcr33d]

Hi there,

I am in the very early stages of opening a play cafe on Northcote road, as a nanny I have seen a real demand for this type of business.
I was looking for some comments and opinions before i pursue it further;

Would people be interested in it?
What would you expect from it, i.e prices? food expectations?
Any other comments/suggestions or opinions?

[MrsParsnips]

Sounds good! I would say plenty of room for buggies, tables not too close together, reasonable prices, clean play area, activites room for parties maybe or baby classes, story times, umm a pinboard for people to post things on. Just off the top of my head!

[Minnie]

Have you already taken a lease on somewhere as if not it's worth searching this site for a similar post as others have tried.

Too expensive overheads and not much profit.

[Kaptainette]

I would definitley be interested! Suggest buggy parking, clean unbroken toys, (including lego!), space for little ones to let off steam, simple inexpensive meals for kids (eg ham sandwiches, bananas, milkshakes), GOOD COFFEE and plenty of newspapers/ magazines for parents, free wi-fi, gate at the front entrance to stop little escapees venturing onto Northcote Road!

Good luck with your venture - hope to see you soon!

[avcr33d]

The only place I've found that tried and failed was Crumpet but I don't necessarily think that was down to it not being worth it but maybe them being too ambitious by having multiple branches?

With the amount of interest, not just on nappy valley but by word of mouth I think it would be very popular and if I wasn't the one opening it I would definitely use it!

Thank you for all the suggestions thus far they have been noted and more are still welcome!

Another question;
Would you be interested in a sensory room for babies and children with special needs?

[Goldhawk]

Munchkin lane on nightingale lane also failed

[supergirl]

It is a good idea but as said by previous posters, a lot have tried and failed. I think if you want to make it work you need to very clearly understand why.
Of course you might think your business plan will succeed where others have failed, thats human and to start such an adventure you need to believe in it. But be objective and distance yourself from it so you can learn from past experience.

In my opinion, one if the reason crumpets failed is because the management didnt maintain the high standards with which they opened. The toys/books were not looked after, the food became less and less attractive (quality and price wise). Why did that happen?
For me i think they were probably too ambitious by opening a few but maybe because their overheads were too high so they needed to open a few?
I also think the lifetime of such a coffee shop is short so not sustainable: who goes there? Mums on maternity leave, mums with young children. Crumpets didnt have any provision for children of 4-5yrs and above therefore mums/dads would stop going there. If you give free wi fi what will happen? People would go there get a coffee and juice for kids and stay for hours not consuming anything. But if you dont give free wi fi thats not v attractive...
Finally i think that despite what we think there is not v many people around during the week. People are busy. So you need to attract working people to come for a coffee but then you need to think of your mix: how would that work? Someone who wants to do a piece of work and a child having a melt down. Both are perfectly legitimate but how will you make them live together in your coffee shop?

Do you know Eat Play Love on Battersea Park Rd? I dont know if they are turning a profit but last time i went they were quite successfull. I think it is because they found a great space with enough room to held classes which both help to pay the overheads and attract people to then consume something.

Good luck with your venture, i wish you all the success in the world. Sx

[Nannywandsworth]

It sounds like an amazing idea, and there is a need for one in the area. All of the other suggestions are perfect, as well as an area for older children (57) with lego, or colouring?

[Jen66]

Cafes that directly target young families don't work because the clientele don't spend much money.

Your potential customers are mostly likely going to stay for an hour and buy one coffee. That's not going to pay the huge rents you get on Northcote Road.

And, because your main client base will be noisy kids, those with money to spend will steer well clear.

Sorry to pee in your porridge so to speak but I cannot see this ever making a profit.

[hjm]

I agree with the previous posters. It's a good idea in theory but I think it's going to be really, really hard to make a profit, especially on Northcote Rd where the rents are astronomical. Mums tend to come and stay and make a big mess without spending much money (not a criticism of mums by the way, I am one and I do the same).

Crumpet failed, Wonderworld of Wishes on Lavender Hill failed (and presumably didn't have the huge rent that you'd have on Northcote Rd). The both started off nice, but got grubby very quickly and therefore people stopped going. The only ones I know that have been successful are Eat Play Love and Bertie & Boo Adventure Island. EPL has been mentioned by a previous poster. I also assume they make most of their money through classes and parties, which they are able to do because they have a big space. Bertie and Boo coffee shop had been in the area for years and had a very good reputation before they opened the play cafe. Like EPL it is also a very big space, people pay to use the soft play and it has space for parties. I doubt that either of these are going to paying anything like Northcote Rd rents either.

Basically please, please be careful and make sure you have a very good and realistic business plan before you do anything.

[Wheresmyschool?]

Don't. Do. It.

Really sorry to be a bore but it won't work from a commercial perspective.

As many many posters have already mentioned it's impossible (and I mean impossible) to square the rent/staff/rates expenses versus the coffee/cake income.

There are heaps of opportunities for kid businesses in the area but unless you are doing this for fun and have a private income of over £200k per year which you are prepared to use to prop the business up.

[LPNJ]

While agreeing with the previous posters I think that a coffee/ breakfast place with an entertainer for breakfast on Saturday/ Sunday would be very popular with parents of pre-schoolers. But maybe this can be done in existing restaurants as an add-on business, which will have much smaller overheads and thus be more likely to generate a profit (as well as allowing you to do something else during the week while developing the business). Just an idea!

[Bubs]

Can only echo previous posters.

The reason these places fail is two-fold ..... one, Mums come in, buy one coffee and stay for hours, two, they get grubby & unpopular as kids grow older.

Eat Play love are doing so well, as others have said, beacuse of their size. The first time we went the food was appalling, but we went back because of the classes they ran, and because the kids begged me ! All subsequent visits have been great, the food has improved, they've gone from strength to strength and I'm so pleased for them - they've done wonderfully.

I do fear that the new childrens cafe / play area proposed in Battersea park will damage their trade a little though. I read in an edition of Southside that they're planning a (brilliant sounding) cafe, with outdoor area and toys for little ones where the one o'clock club currently is. I really hope this doesn't impact on the great job all at E,P,L have done so far ......... but it's exactly this kind of thing that makes these businesses survival harder in reality than they seem at the outset.

How is that sweet little bookshop over by Clapham Common doing, does anyone know ? Underneath the Greenwood Tree or something like that ? I had high hopes for that.

Anyway, to summarise :

Offer something to offset the one-coffee brigade, entice with classes for instance to keep them there longer / stay for lunch (if so, make food decent at least).

Have a good large area, multi-functional (able to hire out for parties, big enough to allow your classes to run separately from the main cafe area). This is hard to find with low overheads.

Ensure a lack of competition locally.

[BettyBoo]

If it's an Eat Play Love model I wish you the best and will be welcome. As not one in this area.

Good luck with your biz venture. High standards and think about where you can make good margin. Eg parties.

[ThePeelClinic]

The Bees Knees at the BAC ( Battersea Arts Centre) is very popular. They charge £2.50 per child in the mornings (parents free) and free in the afternoon. They are all planning classes too. It has a great playroom for children and there is a cafe too. My wife takes our grandchildren there and they love it. Have a look at the link for photo and details

https://www.bac.org.uk/beesknees

Christopher