In Chicago, upscale café offers play space for kids

For parents of young children, dining out has been a perennial challenge. Last summer we saw Les 400 Coups step up to that challenge in Paris with a restaurant that aims to keep kids entertained; now, for families in Chicago, there’s the Little Beans Café. Parents in North America have long had myriad fast-food options with play areas, of course. For those seeking a more grownup-friendly experience, however, the Little Beans Café is a 5,000-square-foot coffee lounge and imaginative play space that’s soon to open in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighbourhood. In addition to offering parents an assortment of gourmet coffee drinks, pastries and sandwiches, the café gives kids a place to burn off some steam through its adjoining interactive play village, sensory touch zone for crawlers, supervised play areas and toys, books and games. Also on offer at the café are daily classes, events and birthday parties. And when kids begin to tire, the Little Beans Café’s menu includes a variety of kid-friendly items. A daily pass for two hours at the Little Beans Café costs USD 12 for one child. Supervised play, including admission plus 1.5 hours of supervision, is USD 20.
 As we’ve noted before, kid-friendly restaurants remain a relatively underserved segment of the dining market outside the fast-food realm. How about bringing something like this to your neck of the woods…? Spotted by Jim Stewart