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Opening the Barn Doors
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| The Little Barn offers a ball pit, climbing wall, toy tractors and other games for children. Parents can take advantage of a snack bar with espresso and a Wi-Fi connection. Photo by Gary Leonard. |
Downtown Kids Get an Indoor Playground
by Richard Guzmán
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Downtown’s latest hot spot for young up-and-comers has everything you would expect in a place where you would want to hang out with friends or throw a private, party, although the clientele is kind of a rough-and-tumble crowd.
There’s a coolly lit lounge area, a little bit of food and some drinks. There is also a bounce house, a swing set, tractor cars, a climbing wall, a huge chalkboard and a ball pit.
Little Barn, which opened Oct. 5, is making a straight-ahead pitch at something its owners think is in woefully short supply in Downtown Los Angeles — businesses that cater to kids.
“We wanted to provide a place where Downtown kids could go and have a great experience,” said 36-year-old Jennifer Frizzell, who opened Little Barn with her friend, 37-year-old Stephanie Raye. “We’ve been hugely surprised at how much support we’re getting.”
The 3,000-square-foot indoor playground is housed in an old printing shop on Beaudry Avenue in City West. It is open to kids from 6 months to 8 years old. Along with the children’s amenities, there is free Wi-Fi, as well as a snack bar serving drinks like coffee and espresso.
It is open seven days a week. Entry is $8 a day per child.
Growing Audience
This is not the first business for either of the proprietors.
Raye owns the Bikram Yoga outlet on Bunker Hill, while Frizzell is a partner in the Redwood Bar on Second Street. They opened Little Barn after finding few options in Downtown for their toddler daughters.
“We would go to indoor playgrounds all over town, but we wanted some place that was clean, safe, brought the community together and that we didn’t have to leave to get lunch,” said Raye.
Little Barn’s exterior is, appropriately, designed to look like a big red barn. So far the reaction has exceeded expectations, they said, with more than a dozen kids visiting daily. They also had booked five private parties within their first few weeks of opening.
“The official numbers may not seem that big, but we felt there’s a lot more families in Downtown than are documented,” Frizzell said.
According to a demographic study released this year by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, 6.5% of area residents have children ages 5 or under. Another 13% plan to start a family within a few years.
At Play
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, parents from nearby neighborhoods were taking advantage of Downtown’s newest place to hang out.
Bridget Levine sat in the bounce house with her 1-year-old son, Asher, who is already a regular at Little Barn. The Hollywood resident heard about the playground when she was searching for a place to hold Asher’s birthday party.
“We wanted a place that could hold a bunch of kids where they wouldn’t get bored and where the parents would have a good time,” Levine said as Asher raced around the playground. He went straight for some fake haystacks before settling in to one of the many cars parked by the swings.
Levine said she also enjoys the social interaction between parents that occurs at Little Barn. The indoor playground, she said, encourages more talking than occurs at an outdoor park.
“It’s also a place that parents can meet and talk and have a coffee. It’s so important for parents to have adult conversations too,” said Levine.
Rob Johnson, a Miracle Mile resident, heard about Little Barn through Levine as part of a parents group. During his visit, his 14-month-old daughter Annabel dove into the “bubble lounge,” a pit with thousands of clear plastic balls. It is in a room illuminated by a low-wattage green light that imparts a lounge feel.
“It’s great, clean and fun,” Johnson said. “There’s a good variety of things to do here and she really seems to like it.”
While Annabel loved in the pit, Asher mastered the driving skills required to move the toy car around. Frizzell, dressed in barn-friendly overalls, joined him in a spontaneous bumper car game.
Raye and Frizzell said that they are already looking at ways to expand their services.
“We’re just getting started,” said Raye. “We’re going to get some morning music soon, kids yoga. We have so many more ideas we’re going to implement.”
Little Barn is at 130 S. Beaudry Ave., (213) 481-2276 or littlebarn.org.
Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
page 9, 11/9/2009
©Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
There’s a coolly lit lounge area, a little bit of food and some drinks. There is also a bounce house, a swing set, tractor cars, a climbing wall, a huge chalkboard and a ball pit.
Little Barn, which opened Oct. 5, is making a straight-ahead pitch at something its owners think is in woefully short supply in Downtown Los Angeles — businesses that cater to kids.
“We wanted to provide a place where Downtown kids could go and have a great experience,” said 36-year-old Jennifer Frizzell, who opened Little Barn with her friend, 37-year-old Stephanie Raye. “We’ve been hugely surprised at how much support we’re getting.”
The 3,000-square-foot indoor playground is housed in an old printing shop on Beaudry Avenue in City West. It is open to kids from 6 months to 8 years old. Along with the children’s amenities, there is free Wi-Fi, as well as a snack bar serving drinks like coffee and espresso.
It is open seven days a week. Entry is $8 a day per child.
This is not the first business for either of the proprietors.
Raye owns the Bikram Yoga outlet on Bunker Hill, while Frizzell is a partner in the Redwood Bar on Second Street. They opened Little Barn after finding few options in Downtown for their toddler daughters.
“We would go to indoor playgrounds all over town, but we wanted some place that was clean, safe, brought the community together and that we didn’t have to leave to get lunch,” said Raye.
Little Barn’s exterior is, appropriately, designed to look like a big red barn. So far the reaction has exceeded expectations, they said, with more than a dozen kids visiting daily. They also had booked five private parties within their first few weeks of opening.
“The official numbers may not seem that big, but we felt there’s a lot more families in Downtown than are documented,” Frizzell said.
According to a demographic study released this year by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, 6.5% of area residents have children ages 5 or under. Another 13% plan to start a family within a few years.
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, parents from nearby neighborhoods were taking advantage of Downtown’s newest place to hang out.
Bridget Levine sat in the bounce house with her 1-year-old son, Asher, who is already a regular at Little Barn. The Hollywood resident heard about the playground when she was searching for a place to hold Asher’s birthday party.
“We wanted a place that could hold a bunch of kids where they wouldn’t get bored and where the parents would have a good time,” Levine said as Asher raced around the playground. He went straight for some fake haystacks before settling in to one of the many cars parked by the swings.
Levine said she also enjoys the social interaction between parents that occurs at Little Barn. The indoor playground, she said, encourages more talking than occurs at an outdoor park.
“It’s also a place that parents can meet and talk and have a coffee. It’s so important for parents to have adult conversations too,” said Levine.
Rob Johnson, a Miracle Mile resident, heard about Little Barn through Levine as part of a parents group. During his visit, his 14-month-old daughter Annabel dove into the “bubble lounge,” a pit with thousands of clear plastic balls. It is in a room illuminated by a low-wattage green light that imparts a lounge feel.
“It’s great, clean and fun,” Johnson said. “There’s a good variety of things to do here and she really seems to like it.”
While Annabel loved in the pit, Asher mastered the driving skills required to move the toy car around. Frizzell, dressed in barn-friendly overalls, joined him in a spontaneous bumper car game.
Raye and Frizzell said that they are already looking at ways to expand their services.
“We’re just getting started,” said Raye. “We’re going to get some morning music soon, kids yoga. We have so many more ideas we’re going to implement.”
Little Barn is at 130 S. Beaudry Ave., (213) 481-2276 or littlebarn.org.
Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
page 9, 11/9/2009
©Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to re-distribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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