Two mums fed up with having little choice of places to entertain their children will open their own role-play adventure village on Monday, 2 October.
Becky Hewitt and Amy Swift have taken on a five-year lease for the former Antlers Steakhouse building in Rugeley.
They have so far invested around £30,000 into refurbishing the building and creating a space with eight individual play pods where children can pretend they are in settings such as a police station, school, shop, theatre, construction area and café.
Imagination Station Rugeley also features a café serving coffee, cakes and children’s meals and lunches such as toasties for adults.
Becky said: “We are really excited about Imagination Station and can’t wait to see children enjoying themselves. The interest we have had is phenomenal, off the scale.
“Our Facebook page reached 7,000 people within the first seven days of being live.”
Becky had previously toyed with the idea of opening a play centre but was put off by the fact it needed to include a café and she had no interest in food.
Her and Amy, who have four children between them, met and became friends when their daughters started school together.
“When Amy and I started talking, I discovered she loves baking and had been working from home since having her daughter – it was like a perfect, miracle pairing,” said Becky.
Their Horse Fair base had been empty for around two years before the pair took it on.
Becky currently runs a cleaning company and was also working for a firm of solicitors in Lichfield until recently giving it up to concentrate on the new business.
Both her and Amy will work at Imagination Station, with Amy cooking up cakes and treats.
Two to three other jobs will be created in the run up to Christmas and more recruitment is set to take place in the new year.
The pair have been inviting local independent businesses to sponsor relevant play pods in the attraction.
Anyone interested in sponsorship or applying for jobs should email [email protected]
- The venture comes not long after the opening of a new role play village at Waterworld Leisure Resort, in Stoke-on-Trent, reported by Daily Focus here.
