A new kids play spot is coming to York County. It’ll offer plenty for parents too
The youngest folks in a growing area of York County, and the adults who bring them, will have a new getaway with the opening of Funtown Play Cafe.
Funtown is a play area geared toward children up to age 6. It also will have a cafe lounge with coffee, beverages and snacks where adults can watch their children play, as well as offer space for birthday parties, baby showers and gender reveals. Classes for parents and children will include baby yoga and sensory sessions.
Funtown should open in March at 4555 Charlotte Hwy., unit 19, in Lake Wylie.
“The goal of this establishment is to form a high-end town ‘hub’ where families can feel comfortable toting their tots and infants and feel accepted, encouraged and connected,” said owner Kate Mitchell.
A main play area will focus on ages 2 to 6. A separate, gated play area will be for younger children. Play spots will have imaginative and sensory items that develop gross motor skills, Mitchell said.
The idea behind Funtown started when Mitchell, who is from the Czech Republic, visited family there and found indoor places where children could play while adults gathered.
She decided to start a rental business with soft play items. Funtown Playground began as a mobile playground and special events business in March 2020, right before the COVID pandemic shut down most businesses.
Still, Funtown survived and eventually grew. Mitchell kept her sights set on a home location and play area. The mother of two relates to moments when parents and children feel trapped in the house and need a change of scenery, she said.
The Lake Wylie location is the former Coastal Cottage space in a larger building that’s been home to numerous businesses, from Local Motion Bar and Grill to Fat Cats Oyster Bar & Grill and Adagio School of Dance.
Why open in Lake Wylie?
Mitchell’s family moved from Hawaii to Huntersville, North Carolina, in 2018 and then to Lake Wylie. The rental business serves the greater Charlotte area. The decision to open in Lake Wylie has more than just proximity going for it.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 7.3% of Lake Wylie’s population — 1,053 people — are age 5 and younger. The younge- than-10 crowd makes up 15.2% of Lake Wylie. Both those figures are higher than the York County averages of 5.4% and 12.4%, respectively.
Long-known for strong schools that attract young families, Lake Wylie neighboring communities like Clover, Fort Mill and Tega Cay all have 5-and-younger population rates higher than the county average.
Those four communities alone have almost 3,900 children 5 and younger. Lake Wylie also borders the Steele Creek area of Charlotte with its estimated 1,410 children 5 or younger..
This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 1:56 PM.
