This article has been updated since it first appeared in print.
Wild Ones Play Cafe owner Sean Tuck, pictured during construction (Photo by Layna Comeforo)
Wild Ones Play Cafe, a new kid-friendly facility that opened this month in the Staples Mill Plaza shopping center in Glen Allen, is all about common ground. Owner and Richmond native Sean Tuck designed the play-centric property to please infants, toddlers and kids up to age 10, as well as their parents.
“There’s nothing like it in this area,” says Jaime Benjamin, a friend of Tuck’s who assisted with the project. Benjamin adds that while the city has play places for kids of younger ages and trampoline parks for older ones, she’s struggled to find a space designed for both.
Tuck gave birth to twins in early 2020 as the pandemic drastically limited opportunities for kids and adults to connect in a social environment. “[I know] firsthand what that isolation of raising kids can feel like without having that village mentality,” Tuck says. Play cafes like Wild Ones aim to fill that gap.
Open in morning and afternoon shifts during the week and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, Wild Ones sells passes for open play (with rates to be determined) in the Montessori-inspired settings. In the nonwalker area, infants have room to crawl, play with toys and look at books, while preschool-aged children can “pretend play” nearby with tiny bank and doctor’s office setups.
Two sides make up the big kids’ section: one for arts and crafts to practice fine motor skills and one with a jungle gym-like structure fixed with a climbing wall and disability-friendly balance equipment.
Beyond open play, the cafe will also host rotating music and dance classes, and customers can rent the space for birthday parties on weekends. Neurodivergent children and their parents can attend sensory-friendly hours held weekly, and those using WIC benefits are eligible for discounted play times. At the coffee bar, parents and kids can buy seasonal drinks and healthy snacks.
Benjamin, who has three children under the age of 5, highlights the accommodations for children of all abilities and that the majority of the cafe’s toys are battery-free.
“Kids now are so used to flashing lights and everything being electronic and overwhelming,” she says. “Having a place where they can have fun and work on some skills without realizing it is very appealing.” This year, Benjamin helped Tuck with painting, tiling and picking artwork for the cafe, and her kids have helped to test various toys.
Tuck’s background in youth services spans more than a decade, including a position with Henrico nonprofit Family Lifeline, where she helped families navigate the first weeks of parenthood through home visits.
“Our role was to provide care and education around childhood development, but I think a lot of what we did do was be another adult that these parents, primarily moms, could talk to,” she says. It was during those visits that Tuck envisioned the concept that would become Wild Ones.
“The goal is for us to be an inclusive community for families with kiddos of all abilities,” she says.
