The owners of successful Little Brown Mouse Play Cafe, Cannock, talk about the success of their business.

Express & Star

Gareth and Stephanie Curran who own Little Brown Mouse Play Cafe, Cannock, talk about the struggles of starting their own business during the covid pandemic, and how they have gone on to make a success of their business.

Transcript

00:00 Okay, so Gaz and Steph, we're here at Little Brown Mouse Cafe and Play area.

00:06 It's incredibly successful obviously, I can tell from just looking around and walking about.

00:11 It's been hard work.

00:12 Yeah, but I was going to say, it hasn't always been the case has it?

00:15 So just tell me how you started.

00:17 We started just as the Covid restrictions started getting lifted really.

00:22 But we had to be aware of face coverings and there was the minimum, or the maximum number rather,

00:28 of six people per family, parties wasn't allowed, balloons wasn't allowed,

00:33 all those things to take for granted today really.

00:37 And gradually the government worked harder and we started relaxing those measures.

00:42 We'd be able to introduce more toys, soft furnishings,

00:46 soft toys for children to be able to play with,

00:48 where if those were banned it was hard furnished for them.

00:50 So during Covid, was there any point where you just thought, what are we doing?

00:54 Should we just give it a rest?

00:55 Every day to be honest with you.

00:56 Really?

00:57 Yeah, you just wake up and think, what's in store today?

00:59 And what have we got ourselves into?

01:01 Is this going to work as a new business?

01:03 But you just have to keep working harder, fighting and building a relationship with your customers

01:09 and families that have come here.

01:10 So what would you say gave you that passion just to carry on and not give up?

01:13 Just seeing those children coming back all the time.

01:15 The children coming back, playing.

01:16 Getting to know the families, getting to know the mums, the dads, the nans.

01:20 It's lovely just to see those families coming in, grandparents coming in, reading books together, playing.

01:26 It just makes you want to just close the door and come back the next day.

01:29 You always have problems along the way.

01:31 You have problems every day, don't you?

01:33 But seeing those families coming in, you get to know their name and the children come up and say,

01:37 "Gaz, can I have some squash?" or "Steph, can I have a cheese sandwich?"

01:41 It's just nice to have that relationship with them.

01:43 Yeah, absolutely.

01:44 So, what kind of tips would you give to people who are thinking of starting a business?

01:50 We've always wanted to do this for a long, long time.

01:54 Our family commitments, they kind of, not got in the way, but they steered us in different directions.

01:59 And it was just waiting for the right time as a family and as a couple,

02:03 with the finances and things like that.

02:05 You have to prioritize your family.

02:06 But if you've got a dream, I would just say go for it.

02:08 Absolutely.

02:09 The worst you could do is say it didn't work and you go back to whatever you wanted to do previously.

02:14 And it's obviously really successful now.

02:16 It's really popular.

02:18 Have you got any plans for the future? Expand or new policies?

02:21 We're trying to keep it fairly small at the moment.

02:24 We've got a really nice kind of customer base, with customers and families that we know.

02:30 We don't want to be one of those big franchises where you lose that personal touch.

02:36 When you officially can't man your own places, you lose that quality really.

02:42 That's why people come to us, they like that personal touch.

02:45 Fantastic. Well, good luck for the future anyway. I'm sure you don't need it.

02:47 Thank you, I appreciate it.

02:48 Thank you very much.

02:50 Windy back kick it, windy back kick it.

02:54 So Kelly, you've come all the way from Birmingham today, just to come here in Cannock.

03:02 What gave you the idea and what's the reason?

03:05 I just saw loads of really good reviews on Facebook.

03:08 It just looks like a really nice cafe to go to.

03:12 We came once a couple of weeks ago and just loved it. It was just the right sort of thing for this age of age.

03:19 It's just a nice homely feel.

03:22 And it's just great, it's got a great bow to it.

03:28 So what do you think it is? What is it about the place that makes you want to come back?

03:32 It's just a nice size.

03:34 We've got nice food, coffees, and just a nice little soft play.

03:39 And then we've got the role play bit as well, which is nice.

03:42 It's not too busy where it can get a bit chaotic.

03:45 It's taken to the big soft plays, which is all over the world.

03:49 And it's loud and stuff. But here it's just nice.

03:53 So you'll definitely be coming back again?

03:55 Yeah, definitely.

03:56 Because we do birthday parties as well, so maybe even having a birthday party could make you just feel good.

04:02 Excellent, excellent.

04:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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