Play cafe to start in Gurnee

Gurnee village board members have approved what’s billed as a play cafe where parents can hang out while their children have indoor fun.

Stay 2 Play Inc. will open in the Pinewood Crossings mall on Dilley’s Road just north of Grand Avenue. Village board trustees, without dissent, gave final approval for the business’ special-use permit Monday night.

In addition to the play cafe concept, the business intends to offer limited child care for a parent for maximum of four hours in a day or 12 hours per week. Stay 2 Play President Scott Meno said this end of the business would be geared for a parent who has much to do in a town loaded with malls.

“We have a lot in Gurnee that kind of lends itself to drop-in child care,” Meno said Tuesday.

Plans call for Stay 2 Play to cover 3,600 square feet and offer cafe seating for about 40 adults and accommodations for a maximum 48 children. Meno said coffee and food prepared by a yet-to-be-determined vendor will be offered at the cafe.

Meno said the operation’s centerpiece will be a 2,500-square-foot play town, designed for children to use their imaginations in a post office, fire station or grocery store. There also will be space for physical activities and an arts-and-crafts studio.

Stay 2 Play initially will be geared for children ages 2 to 6, Meno said. The facility will need an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services permit for the drop-in day care.

Children will be watched by Stay 2 Play staff in a secure area, Meno said. An admission fee will be charged.

Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said she likes the Stay 2 Play concept, and that operators presented what seems to be a good business plan.