After her second child was born, ICU nurse Kelly Sweeting took well to being a mostly stay-at-home mom. Save for the occasional two or three hospital shifts a month, Sweeting mostly stays home with the kids, an arrangement she sees a blessing.
In the summer, she can take the kids to the park. But when the weather cools down, she noticed, there seems to be few places a mom can go to both let the children stay active and to find time to rest while keeping an eye on them.
Indoor play areas are “great for big kids,” she said, “but as a mom of the two year and a four year old, I’m running around trying not to lose my little one, and I’m lucky if I get to sit down for five seconds or even get a Diet Coke out of a vending machine.”
Coffee shops, on the other hand, may be the ideal spot to relax and enjoy a muffin and a latte, but it’s not exactly a welcoming environment for energetic four- and two-year olds.
“So I was like, ‘There’s got to be an in-between a place where kids actually enjoy to go, but just as much that the parents enjoy to go,” Sweeting said. “And so I just thought about marrying the two.”
That idea, Playdates, is currently underway. After about a year of consideration, with encouragement from her friend Shelby Dodd, who opened her own indoor children’s playground Village Kin in North Augusta earlier this year, Sweeting got to work on making this unique third space a reality.
Playdates will be a combination staffed play space for small children and coffee shop, complete with café lounge seating and a coffee bar, where customers can enjoy a cappuccino and a pastry, get work done or just relax with their kids playing in full view.
Peach Coffee Roastery in Atlanta will provide the brew, served on the menu alongside hot teas, as well as selections such as breakfast sandwiches, scones, muffins and cinnamon rolls.
“I’m not naive to the fact that if a mom wants to bring a child to play there, she’ll pass three Dunkin Donuts or three Starbucks on the way,” Sweeting said. “So I have to bring my level of coffee product to that standard where she will pass those very known brands, very proven in the industry, and say, ‘hey, I’ll save my money for Play Dates coffee.”
Locals already seem to be ready to support, as Sweeting has had to turn down requests to book birthday parties there.
“I don’t deserve this type of support and outpouring,” said Sweeting, who will be making her first foray into two kinds of businesses. “I barely know what I’m doing, but I know I want to make a space for parents and families and grandparents to bring their kids and people would just like to go to the way to thank me for doing this.”
Sweeting hopes the space renovation will be completed in time to open Playdates, at 4020 Washington Rd., in November or December.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering general reporting for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com
