INDIANAPOLIS—Kevin and Krstina Lai both had stable careers in the medical field when they noticed a need for an alternative café.
“As soon as we started having our own kids, we were trying to find things for them to do,” explained Kevin Lai.
“We really didn’t find a whole lot around here…we looked around and said 'Well, why don’t we do it?'”
Two years and numerous permits later, the Lai’s opened The Busy Bee Play Café at 5635 W. 96th St.
“It’s an indoor playground and coffee shop. So we got something for the kids and something for the adults,” added Kristina.
The concept of a play café is very common in other parts of the United States but had not made its way to Indianapolis until Busy Bee opened two weeks ago.
The Lai’s knew they couldn’t start the business without the help of the community. Over the past two years, they have collected responses from parents about what the café should include.
“Over 1000,” said Kristina.
“We had a ton of survey responses early on to help shape this idea. We have some passionate fans, and we’ve been able to tailor our space to their feedback,” she said.
The purpose of the café is to be designed by families, for families.
“As a parent, we would still be wanting to keep tabs on the kids,” said Kevin while explaining the layout of the facility.
“The way we’ve designed the space is to allow for a line of sight pretty much everywhere for the parents to be able to look at their kids.”
More information about The Busy Bee Café can be found on their website.
