A 'play café' for kids, adults: How The Little Lounge in Horseheads is bridging the gap

A mother of three young boys, Jackie Perkins was all too familiar with the lack of childcare, play and party options for kids in the Elmira area.

So she decided to turn her dream into a reality.

Perkins opened The Little Lounge earlier this year at 2898 Westinghouse Road in Horseheads, offering a mix of play, special classes and events, a space for birthday parties, and an area for adults to grab a coffee or do some work while the kids have fun.

“I wanted something like this in the area for a long time. There’s really not a lot in the area for kids,” said Perkins. “We have families who come all the time from Ithaca and Binghamton because there isn’t a play café anywhere around them as well. There’s also not a lot of options for young children’s birthday parties in the area.”

Perkins spent over a dozen years working in the area as a pediatric occupational therapist. That background in childhood development informed the setup and activities at The Little Lounge, which has also partnered with speech therapists, physical therapists and a lactation consultant to offer a range of services.

“We’re really focused on developmentally appropriate play. We have a lot of opportunities for fine motor and gross motor skills development, and also just socialization,” said Perkins. “We’re working with a lot of different specialties involving children and development.”

The Little Lounge is designed for kids aged six months to around 7. Playhouse themes are rotated to keep the environment fresh. Open play periods are available to the public each day. Families can also purchase a membership that includes discounts on birthday parties, café purchases, and early booking for special events.

The Little Lounge just released its summer camp schedule with weekly openings. Perkins said as many as 50 kids could be playing in the lounge on any given weekend. Weekends have been steadily booked with multiple birthday parties on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Little Lounge isn’t just about the kids; it also features a café space with free Wi-Fi and seating in the play area for parents.

“Parents can come in and do work on their laptop while their kids play,” said Perkins. “We have moms that come in and hang out in the café and drink coffee while their kids play, so there’s lots of different opportunities.”

The Little Lounge currently has six part-time employees. Summer camps will be run by Perkins or certified teachers.

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Perkins hopes this summer is just the first of many at The Little Lounge.

“We hope there’s enough of a demand to eventually expand either to a larger space or possibly a second facility, but we’re still very early on,” said Perkins. “People are always coming in and saying ‘You’ve got to expand.’ We’ve only been open a couple months, so we’ll wait and see what opportunities come about.”

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: New Little Lounge in Horseheads offers play for kids, café for adults