Recess Work & Play Cafe opened on South Ashley Street this September, combining a children’s play area with a menu of assorted pastries, breads and spreads, coffee, beers and wine. Recess Cafe aims to create a third place for Ann Arbor parents to get a drink with friends or do work while employees watch their children in the play area.
Recess Cafe charges $10/hour for child care services Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Children aged zero to one can attend for free. Bookings for a ‘playpass’ can be made on the website for one and two-hour time blocks, and party reservations are also available by request.
Recess Cafe owner Thressa Nichols told The Michigan Daily in an interview that young families play an important role in building strong communities.
“People put down roots, they get invested in the schools, they go out to eat,” Nichols said. “They stimulate the economy in a lot of ways. And so I just felt like we needed more places to help families know that they could do that here.”
In an interview with The Daily, Ann Arbor resident Shamus Craft said the cafe’s location makes it a convenient stop for locals.
“I think this is a great location,” Craft said. “I can’t speak for other folks, but there seems to be a lot of foot traffic down here. I myself come down (to) this area a lot just to walk around and see what storefronts are out, see what’s new.”
In an email to The Daily, Operations Manager Amelia Pointer wrote in addition to families, students have also quickly become the core of the cafe’s customer base.
“We’ve also been seeing regulars already, which is amazing — it’s been so much fun getting to know the families in the area,” Pointer wrote. “But we have found that there are students that come to study; we tend to be less busy than some other cafes, especially around nap time, so we’re a reliable space for some good coffee and snacks while working on homework or studying.”
In an email to The Daily, Rackham student Himani Jasewicz, who visited the cafe with her husband and children, said the space provided a rare balance between parenting and productivity.
“My husband and I were able to chat, and I was able to get some schoolwork done while the kids independently played,” Jasewicz wrote.
Pointer also explained the extensive staff training that went into preparing for the opening, from coffee and wine education to child care experience.
“Before we opened, we had our entire staff do trainings with both Hyperion (our espresso supplier) and Spencer (who helped us determine our wine selection),” Pointer wrote. “We also did several training sessions leading up to open running through logistics; how to balance between being behind the counter and in the space, how to read the space and gauge customer needs based on what they see. Most of our employees come from child care backgrounds as well, and everyone enjoys working with children, so that was incredibly helpful as well.”
In addition to the cafe’s partnerships with local businesses for their wine and coffee, Recess Cafe offers baked goods from CRUST. Nichols said she wanted to prioritize higher quality rather than prepackaged items on the food menu and ensuring environmental sustainability.
“I knew we wanted to stay pretty local, and so through that, we looked at a handful of distributors for food and for pastries, and then I also knew that we wanted a menu that was a little nicer than what you traditionally find, so less pre-packaged items,” Nichols said. “I really focused a lot on not having a lot of plastic things. We’re making this space for kids.”
Jasewicz wrote that her family plans to return because of their positive experience that she feels is worth the price.
“I think this café is wonderful and would come again,” Jasewicz wrote. “It’s on the steeper side price-wise since it’s priced by the hour, but the kids enjoyed it enough that we would return.”
Daily Staff Reporter Kayla Lugo can be reached at klugo@umich.edu.
