New Play Cafe Opens Along Randall Road

ELGIN, IL – A new play cafe – with two large indoor play structures, a jumping pad for older children, a miniature firehouse and market for smaller children and plenty of espresso drinks and places to sit for parents – has opened in Elgin. Located along Randall Road, Bumblebee Play Cafe opened on Jan. 12 in a vacant 20,000-square-foot space in a shopping center that also houses Russo Power Equipment and is across the street from Harvest Bible Chapel.

Since opening, the new play cafe has seen a steady flow of parents with their children and mom groups visiting for play dates, said Bumblebee Play Cafe manager Christine Gardner.

"Elgin doesn't have anything like this," Gardner said. " We wanted to open something to give back to the parents and grandparents of this community."

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Growth has been steady, especially considering the business's only source of advertisement has been through its Facebook page, which now has over 800 followers. Gardner said she has been most impressed with the number of repeat customers stopping out in the few short weeks the business has been open.

"We've had moms who've come back two to three times in one week," she said.

Those visiting will find a room for younger children, aimed at amusing kids 4 years old and younger, and a separate room geared toward children 5 to 12 years old. The room for the younger children has a play structure with slides, climbing ramp, giant over sized balls inside a netted off area and riding toys outside the structure for children to "race" around a makeshift race area. The room also includes miniature buildings, a firehouse, market and house; a work bench with tools; and more miniature cars and strollers to use for imaginative play.

There is also a walled off area for babies that includes bouncy chairs and other toys geared to infants.

The room for older children has a much larger play structure and a massive jumping pad.

In addition, Bumblebee has a cafe and a sitting area with tables outside both the play rooms. The cafe serves a variety of espresso and coffee drinks, as well as some food items, including pizza, a chicken wrap and breakfast sandwiches. There are six party rooms that can be rented to host birthday parties and gatherings.

After opening, Gardner said the biggest complaint they heard from customers was their pricing. They started off charging $16 on the weekends and $13 on week days for unlimited play. They came to those prices after visiting other similar businesses, like Epic Air. But customers told Bumblebee they really only planned to spend a couple hours there and thought the prices were too high for that amount of time.

Bumblebee responded by lowering their prices. Now, children 1 to 12 years of age are $8 on Monday through Friday and $12 on Saturdays and Sundays for the first child. A second child is $6 on weekdays and $10 on weekends. Parents/guardians and infants up to 11 months old are free.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

For more information, visit the Bumblebee Play Cafe website.

Photo credit: Amie Rowland