Southsea Play Cafe Ltd

Who we are

Southsea play café is a unique café space crafted with families in mind. We aim to create an experience where children can explore in an educational play setting focused on Montessori-based play methods. It will be family-friendly and an aesthetically pleasing space where adults can relax while their children play. We want our mini customers to have the best play and learning experience possible so providing the right tools for this is so important to us. 

The play areas

Having a Montessori play area to compliment our ‘little high street’ means we can provide a learning environment for a wider age range. 

Our baby sensory room will be filled with official sensory equipment from occupational therapist-approved companies to ensure we are providing our babies with a safe and effective sensory experience.

The cafe 

Our food and drinks area will be equipt with a salad bar and cake fridge to offer a wide range of healthy food throughout the day plus an espresso machine to make our award-winning 'Broadway coffee roasters' fabulous range of coffees. 

The cost of the project

Our kitchen equipment is estimated to cost around £10,000 in order to be ready for opening. The specialist play equipment is ranging from £3000 along with books, arts and crafts supplies, and cleaning supplies to ensure all of our equipment is kept spik and span! Plus, although we are upcycling and sourcing pre-loved furniture for our seating and cafe area we will be looking at a spend of £2000 for chairs, tables, soft furnishings, artwork, and plants to make the space a haven for our lovely parents and carers to enjoy. We have managed to secure a start-up business loan after months of working alongside a business and financial advisor and successfully secured this however this still leaves us short on our journey to completion!

Our project and build of the premises is well underway and right on schedule to open in spring, however, due to the rising cost of materials and pretty much everything, meaning we are running a very tight budget which is where you guys come in! Having help from our community is something we are so lucky to have access to meaning innovative small businesses like ours stand a chance in this ever-challenging economy!

As a start-up small business being run by two working mums (along with the help of family and friends pulling together!) we are doing all we can to make this dream happen as we believe our community is in real need of a place like ours!

A little bit about us...

Alyson

“I’m a local Southsea Mum with 4 years of experience working in SEN education with a focus on sensory support. I love keeping fit and going out for coffee with family and friends (and wine when the day is done!) Being a busy mum I appreciate the importance of balancing quality time with our little ones whilst also taking time out for yourself, so I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of creating a haven that provides this for our community.”

Josie

“I am a Mum of two from Southsea. I am a biomedical scientist and have been working for the NHS, alongside working in bars and restaurants since I left school. I enjoy finding new things for my children to do and experience, I enjoy coffee, food, and catching up with friends and family. Creating a space for the community to enjoy that offers a combination of all these things is something I am very excited about.”