Photo courtesy The Bunny Hive
When Brittany Schmid moved to Atlanta a few years ago, she was looking for a way she and her baby could get out of the house for some stimulation and social interaction.
“I’d find something in a church basement or a forgotten corner of a library, but nothing that felt like ‘me,’” she recalls. “I wanted a space that was elevated where we could make friends.”
Schmid commiserated on the phone with her best friend, Katy Doar, who was going through something similar in New York. “What we were looking for just didn’t exist, so we decided we should do something ourselves,” she says.
So in 2019, they opened The Bunny Hive, a social club for children and their caregivers. The concept was such a hit in Atlanta that when Schmid moved home to Richmond during the pandemic, she opened a location at Libbie and Grove avenues.
Chelsea Bretther has been coming to The Bunny Hive in Richmond since her daughter was 2 months old. “Music class was her favorite when she was that small, and we’ve done everything since,” she says. “Having something to get us out the door that allows her to play with other babies has been so helpful. She recognizes everyone now.”
The Bunny Hive’s Richmond location and its first in Atlanta both have around 350 members, and anyone is welcome on a drop-in basis. Classes, like sensory play, ballet and massages, are offered six days a week for babies through kindergarteners. Membership options range from three classes a month for $45 or unlimited for $120.
Both studios are doing so well, Schmid and Doar are franchising: The Bunny Hive is on track to open 24 locations this year in markets including Baltimore, Raleigh, Nashville and Orlando. Schmid adds that creating a business model that appeals to mothers was also important to her. “Owning a franchise of The Bunny Hive gives moms a chance to have a career while still being with their children,” she says.
Photo courtesy The Bunny Hive
“All of the women we’ve signed as franchisees are incredible and come from great, diverse backgrounds,” Schmid continues. “But what ties us all together is that we have young kids and see a need to help parents find connection and community.”
Like Schmid, Midlothian dad Dan Jenkins was also looking for an interactive space for his son and decided to open his own play place for kids.
“My wife and I have a 3-year-old, and by the third day of rain in the middle of winter, our little one was starting to go crazy because we hadn’t left the house,” Jenkins recalls. “We were looking for a good option for him that wasn’t the same old place or wasn’t too crowded.”
Jenkins took advantage of vacant retail space at Stony Point Fashion Park to create Sunshine Play Cafe. The indoor playground was completed in December and the cafe is slated to open this spring. He designed many of the playcenters based on ideas from his wife and son.
“Depending on the day or his energy level, our son might play with one thing for 45 minutes or he might play with eight things over the course of 10 minutes,” Jenkins says. “My goal was to entertain kids with independent play stations they could do by themselves as well as have areas they could engage together.”
The 2,000-square-foot space designed for infants and kids up to 5 years old includes a trampoline, model kitchen and grocery store, baby area, interactive touchscreens, games, Legos, tunnels and, Jenkins’ favorite, a slide into a ball pit. A two-hour play session costs $20 for the first child and $10 for another.
Jenkins says when places are too busy, his son tends to shut down and disengage, so he limits the number of reservations to 15 kids for a two-hour period of play. He says this controlled setting has also been helpful for families with children on the autism spectrum or different behavioral needs.
Photo courtesy Sunshine Play Cafe
This month, Jenkins will open the cafe next door, featuring coffees, smoothies and acai bowls. Having been in the wellness business for nine years operating Transition Sports Studios, he says opening a center for families was a natural evolution.
“Helping kids is way more fun,” he says. “The concept has been well-received and is growing organically. Customers are really enjoying it, and children are having a blast.”
