When this cafe, located at 3652 N. Lincoln, opened a few years ago, I had a three year old and a newborn baby and we went there all the time. For me, the Cafe was a really great place to relax with the baby and also a fun place for my preschooler to play. It's been awhile since we've been there, however, since my older daughter has pretty much outgrown the place in the last couple of years. Now that she's back in school, though, I decided to go back with my two year old this week because I think she is the perfect age, I wanted to see if we would enjoy it as much as we used to, and I needed a latte.
I really think Family Grounds Cafe is an enjoyable place to spend a morning or afternoon when you have young kids. I think probably under three is the most appropriate age. When we were there my 2.5 year old was pretty much the oldest kid there. It's a relatively small space with not a lot of room for older kids to run around and really no other kids their own age to interact with.
There is a decent size, free parking lot out front. As you walk in the door, to the right, is a large area for strollers and coats. Then you enter the first part of the cafe, which is separated by a door from the play area and is mainly for those without kids who want to enjoy a cup of coffee or for families to hang out while waiting for their turn to play if the cafe is really busy. It is also in this first room, at the counter, that you pay to play. Admission is $6 per person including adults but non-crawling babies are free. Charging adults is a pet peeve of mine but at least at this play room, at times, space can be an issue. Your admission price covers about 90 minutes of play. The time that you arrive is written on your child's name tag so they know when it's time for you to leave.
Inside the play area it is socks only. A portion of the room has tables and chairs for parents to sit and have a coffee and for kids to have a snack. The rest is play space. The play area isn't huge but one of the best parts about the play area at Family Grounds is that they change the look frequently. Sometimes just subtly but it is enough to feel new to kids. There are two decent size playhouses that my daughter loved. One is always set up with a kitchen, dolls, and dress up clothes and the other one changes. We've been there when it was a play flower shop, farmer's market, and this week it was decorated like the jungle with a toy jeep to sit in and jungle animal themed toys. In addition there is a train table, balls to play with, books to read, and a little baby area for the youngest kids. Sometimes there is an art project for the kids to do, I think depending on the number and age of kids who are there. We've also been there when they've done face painting. On Saturdays they have live music. For the rest of January they are having pajama Mondays and on Thursday afternoons are offering free hot cocoa. The cafe offers just enough change, either through seasonal decorations or activities or with new toys or events, to stay fresh for families who go there frequently. We will definitely be back sometime soon.
No outside food is allowed. In the cafe you can get the usual types of drinks you would find at a coffee shop plus they have milk, juice boxes, and snacks for kids like Goldfish crackers. In addition, the cafe offers bagels, muffins, and a short menu of sandwiches and salads for lunch.
There are certain blocks of time during the week when Family Grounds takes reservations for play time through their website www.familygroundscafe.com. You don't have to make a reservation and you may not need one but it is an option. You never really know when it will be really crowded there and when it won't be. I've been there at times when the outer seating area was jammed with people waiting to get inside and other times, like this week, when there were only about 10 kids playing in the room for the morning session and only a few kids who came in later. In this situation, we were told that even though our time was up we were welcome to stay and play since they weren't busy. Just to be safe I would definitely make a reservation on a Saturday or if I was meeting a group of friends. There are other blocks of time during the day that are completely open play when you can't make a reservation.
In addition to having a parking lot and a large area to park strollers, the cafe is also located right off of the Addison Brown Line stop. The Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM until 6 PM and on Saturdays from 8 AM - 2PM.
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