Aug. 18, 2022

A new Tea business is bringing an indoor space for children to play and parents to relax.

Tea Play Place follows a nationwide trend of “play cafes,” connecting a coffee shop for parents and caregivers with an indoor playground created for toddlers and infants.

The space will feature tunnels and slides, pretend stations, dress-up clothes and a range of toys. There also will be a section for infants to crawl and play safely away from older children, owner Beth Hintz said.

Both sections will be gated off from the main section and coffee shop.

“It’ll be a one-stop shop or a community hub for parents to go,” Hintz said. “We’ll have free Wi-Fi, so it’ll be nice if parents have to do some work there and can watch their kid play at our look-through bar.”

Hintz also plans to host music classes, storytimes, and arts and crafts classes.

Tea Play Place at 910 N. Main Ave. is expected to open in late fall for children from birth through 8 years old. The business is taking over a former child care center, and construction is ongoing.

Hintz moved to Sioux Falls with her husband and two girls, age 15 months and 3 years old, in 2021 from Milwaukee. While the stay-at-home mom frequented indoor playgrounds in Wisconsin during the winter, she was stunned to find a lack of the resources when they moved.

These are photos of her kids playing at one.

Indoor playgrounds are plentiful in other urban areas such as Minneapolis, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

As a former nanny and in-home child care owner, Hintz said she understands the needs of parents, caregivers and children. Tea Play Place will have a toy rotation for children, and toys will be cleaned and sanitized regularly.

While there are other play spaces in the Sioux Falls metro area, none offers a comprehensive space for babies, toddlers and parents, Hintz said.

“This will be really nice for parents of multiple kids or in-home day cares because it’s really hard to hold a baby the whole time while you’re there,” Hintz said.

Tea Play Place costs $12 for one-day general admission, or caregivers can use discount punch passes or purchase a monthly or yearly membership. Children younger than 1 are free, and a second child is discounted. Adults must be with a child to enter the facility.

Hintz also wants to provide education and workshops for caregivers, which she said is needed outside of the hospital systems. She’ll have on-site lactation consultations two days a week with paid admission and will host baby-led weaning classes, baby-wearing classes and other classes led by dietitians and chiropractors.

“I saw a need for it in the community,” Hintz said. “Since living here, I haven’t found too many workshops where you can bring your kids to play. Most of the time, workshops that are offered don’t offer child care or let you bring your kids. That makes it harder for parents who want to learn more and be the best parents they can be when they’re working full time or are a single parent.”

The business will be open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon and then from 3 to 6 p.m. It will be closed Tuesdays. Saturday hours will run from 9 a.m. to noon and Sunday hours will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.