How to Open a Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop

How to Open a Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop

How to Open a Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop

Create a Winning Coffee Shop For Families

Opening a kid-friendly coffee shop is a winning proposition in every city. Families, working moms, grandparents, dads with strollers, and kids themselves all deserve a kid-friendly coffee shop where they can feel comfortable.

Perhaps it will be your kid-friendly coffee shop!

Whether you are opening a coffee shop in the suburbs or an urban setting, offering a kid-friendly environment may be just your ticket to increased revenue.

Designing your coffee shop to be kid-friendly will not only increase repeat business but improve overall sales.

If you already have a coffee shop concept in mind but aren't sure how to incorporate a family or kid-friendly environment without breaking the bank, keep reading!

Since we have previously discussed how to start a coffee shop business and how to fund your coffee shop, we'll skip those critical discussions for now. Instead, we'll jump right into the elements you can add to make your coffee shop kid-friendly.

Let's get started!

Coffee Shop Startups Success

How to Open a Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop

Creating an atmosphere that is fun and safe for kids and families doesn't just make financial sense. Your unique sales proposition can be your “special sauce” that elevates your coffee shop above the competition.

Employing a kid-friendly atmosphere practically guarantees repeat business at your coffee shop. Moms, dads, grandparents, and babysitters are all looking for a welcoming place to be together.

To be sure, opening a kid-friendly coffee shop needs to cater to your target market. If you plan to have a café that serves alcohol or caters to high-end business patrons for lunch, you may have to alter your kid-friendly strategy. Yet, you can still do small things that can make your guests feel comfortable and happy.

I always recommend finding ways to incorporate a family-friendly environment before you remodel or design your coffee shop. This will save you time, money and offer a cohesive environment for your customers to enjoy.

However, if you are already up and running your coffee business, that's okay too! Some specific things can make your coffee shop kid-friendly without spending a lot of money.

How to Open a Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop

Coffee Shop Startups Success

Kid-Friendly Strategies for Your Coffee Shop

Your Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop Goal:  Open a coffee shop with a fun and safe atmosphere for all family members and children to enjoy.

Keep in mind that many of the following strategies are not really expensive but they do have various costs that can impact your budget. 

Kid-Friendly Seating:

Incorporate seating areas that are small enough to sit and accommodate young children. Smaller chairs and tables that are light enough for a child to move and sit down can be a significant first step towards your kid-friendly goal.

Additionally, you may offer high chairs and booster seats that will help parents feel more comfortable.

Kid-Friendly Tabletops:

Furnish tabletops and other surfaces that are reachable by young children and be easy to clean. Sturdy table tops that can withstand bumping and jostling will ensure a safer place for children to sit and put parents at greater ease.

Eliminate Sharp Corners

Sharp table corners or furniture ends could spell trouble for youngsters who can be just tall enough to injure themselves. Choosing durable and sturdy furniture with dull corners will be your best bet. If you already have your table, you can purchase furniture bumpers to place over sharp corners.

Eliminate Blind Spots

Coffee shops can be designed to have various rooms and corners that may be fine for adults who enjoy privacy or cozy corners. However, having a children's area with a blind spot from either a wall or a piece of furniture may increase parental anxiety. It's best to have children enjoy their beverages and time in an open area where parents can have a direct line of vision between themselves and their children.

Create a Designated Kid-Friendly Area

If space allows, create a specially designated area for children to hang out. While this may not always be possible, a kid-friendly area can be a great place to incorporate many of the suggestions listed above. Specifically, label the area. For example, you might put up a sign, “Kid Zone!”

Also, make sure that there are no tiny parts or toys that kids can swallow. It's also a good idea to use plastic but durable furniture made of non-toxic and washable materials.

Kid-Proof Your Child Section

To design your kid-friendly space, you will have to think like a parent. Kid-proof the area by covering up electrical outlets and assess furniture hinges or anything that could pinch fingers or arms. Additionally, you will want to tape or cover any electrical cords and remove any glass or heavy objects that can accidentally fall.

Provide Stroller Parking Racks

Providing stroller racks may be just the ticket for parents to stop and grab a coffee. Bike racks would be a great idea too! Create the opportunity for local parents to walk to your coffee shop to socialize or “just get out of the house.” Having a safe place to put strollers or bikes will be helpful.

Further Reading: How to Start a Coffee Shop Successfully

Child-Friendly Coffee Business Strategies Continued

Coffee Shop Startups Success

Kid-Friendly Strategies for Your Coffee Shop

Consider Noise Levels of Your Children Area

If your space has really good acoustics, you may consider adding noise insulation panels on the walls to lessen the voices from bouncing all over your coffee shop and disrupting other patrons.

Additionally, be aware of the music levels in and around the children's area, which may impede talking between children and parents.

Have a Family Restroom

If space permits, having a family-sized restroom where parents and babysitters need to assist their child may be helpful. In addition, you may add additional stalls or a changing table, sanitary liners, and wipes. Your restrooms should always be clean, litter-free, and have enough toilet paper, paper towels (or drying machine), and soap.

Create Kid-Friendly Menu Displays

Develop a menu board that caters to children. A kid-friendly menu may mean having a menu with bright, more oversized print with pictures at their eye-sight level. Have easy-to-read font with larger than average letter sizes.

Increase Your Kid-Friendly Menu

Sometimes even the best coffee shops in town have a lackluster menu for kids. Consider offering several different kid-friendly drinks and healthy snacks. Keep in mind the wide variety of ages. For example, a 9-year-old may not want the same thing as a 4-year-old customer.

Kids can be picky eaters. Allow your coffee shop menu to be customizable. That is, each child may have their own preferences, so be sure that your baristas are empowered to alter the menu to fit the child. Make the name of choices on your menu fun for kids to read. Examples include Dr. Bunny's carrot juice or The World Best Chocolate Muffin.

Gluten-free, Nut-free, and Healthy Items

Be aware that many children (and adults) have allergies to certain foods. Offering healthy options, including milk substitutes, may be a good strategy for many parents who are often health-conscious. Consider who your target market is and base your healthy choice inventory on your research.

Keep Things Affordable

Many parents are price-sensitive to money. Having to buy a coffee and items for their children can rack up their bill pretty quickly. While you want to charge a competitive rate and make a profit, try to keep the cost of your kid-friendly meal as reasonable as possible. Make up the difference in your other adult-oriented items.

If you need to consider how much selling coffee will cost, read our article, How to Determine the Cost of Selling 100 Coffees.

Kid-Friendly Entertainment

Certain toys and puzzles can be just suitable for a kid-friendly area. Crayons and paper or coloring sheets are always a great staple to have to entertain children.

Don't Overwhelm

It may be tempting to fill your space for children with games, toys, and other devices. You can quickly fill up the room with lots of clutter. Having lots of clutter does not only look bad, but it can also create more opportunities for injuries and messes. My advice is to keep things to a minimum and always wipe down surfaces every chance you get.

Opportunity to be Educational

There's always an opportunity to provide books, laminated sheets of paper, or kid-friendly displays of coffee farms, farmers, and wholesale coffee roasters doing their job. You may also include friendly pictures of your staff with information detailing their favorite activities they did when they were children.

Sanitation Station

You may also want to put a small table accessible to kids and adults with paper towels, hand sanitizer, tissue, and a trashcan readily available. This will allow parents to clean up after their children and respond quickly to any spills.

Flooring

At a coffee shop, you want a floor that is both easy to clean but not slippery. Install flooring that is not permeable to water and can withstand some good daily scrubbing.

Kid-Friendly Music

Having music piping through your speakers is pretty common for coffee shops. To ensure that your coffee shop is kid-friendly, make sure that the music you play isn't too loud for little eardrums and the lyrics aren't too crude for youngsters.

Issue Kid Loyalty Cards

Kids often see their parents with credit cards and loyalty cards from a variety of institutions and restaurants. Why not offer a kid-loyalty card for every purchase they – or their parents – make on their behalf?

For example, for every 12 purchases they make, they can get a free drink or snack? Kids would love to have their own card and be able to put their name on it!

Train Your Baristas

While your coffee shop design and layout will be important, your baristas will be the most important asset in making your visiting families feel safe and welcome.

Train your staff to accommodate larger groups of children (4 or more) and the need to shuffle tables around. Some kids will have spills, accidents, arguments, and meltdowns. Hire amazing baristas. Next, train your staff to help wherever possible. Additionally, you may want to train baristas to offer kid menu options every time an adult comes in with a child.

Promote and Market to Parents

Your coffee shop is exactly what parents need. You have gone through the trouble to build and design a safe and welcoming kid-friendly space. Now it's up to you to promote your kid-friendly coffee shop!

Reach out to local schools, churches, clubs, and organizations. And don't forget to join your local Facebook group or promote your kid-friendly spot online. Develop a promotion or marketing plan to reach as many parents as possible.

Activities for Kids

If your coffee shop concept allows for this, you might want to entertain your younger customers by providing food workshops, various master classes, competitions, or group games. You might want to assign one of your staff members who is especially good with kids to be in charge of organizing kids' activities. These events can be paid or free, depending on how sophisticated they are.

How to Open a Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop

Open a Kid-Friendly Coffee Shop

Related Questions:

How big should the kid-area be?

Limitations of space are a huge factor in determining what kind of kid-area you can have. For the most part, your kid-area does not have to be very large. It can be a small as the size of a child-sized table and three two chairs. If you have more space, you can add several chairs, a bookshelf, and other pieces of furniture. Additionally, if you are lucky to have even more space, you can put a pre-fabricated playset for children to play in and parents to watch.

Should I install a TV for kid movies?

If the TV doesn't take away from your coffee shop concept, you may consider it. However, keep in mind that TVs can kill the vibe you might be trying to establish. Furthermore, it can keep families and children glued to their seats for more extended periods. This may spell trouble if you are trying to serve as many people as possible throughout the day.

Can I still serve alcohol?

Serving alcohol depends much on your concept, menu, and local laws. Some cities and counties may not want any alcohol in the presence of minors. There will most likely be specific regulations on serving alcohol and allowing children to enter your coffee shop or café. Be sure to check with your local liquor board and county agencies before making the decision to serve alcohol at your coffee shop.

How much should I budget to make my coffee shop kid-friendly?

Many of the suggestions discussed above are relatively low-cost items. Smaller tables, chairs, and installing stroller racks may be one-time costs. Of course, enlarging your restroom may cost significant money. But if expanding a family restroom is beyond your estimated budget, you may opt to install a changing table instead. If you start your design and layout early in the planning phase, you can include it with your original coffee shop budget.

How can I make a drive-thru coffee shop kid-friendly?

If you have a drive-thru coffee shop, there are still things you can do to make it kid-friendly. First, make sure that the area around your drive-thru is safe for pedestrian traffic. You may need to install lighting, painted street signs, and other signs to encourage drivers to slow down. Create a kid-only menu board with your favorite kid drinks. 

Are You Ready To Get Started?

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Based in Seattle, Washington, USA, Coffee Shop Startups is dedicated to providing you with the most relevant information on how to start a coffee shop business successfully. Over the last 11 years, we've helped thousands of aspiring coffee business owners worldwide. We harness the experience, wisdom, and knowledge of many successful coffee shop owners to help you increase your chances of success and profits. We support business owners who want to start a coffee business by providing them with valuable information on starting their coffee business successfully.