A Bath mum is using her entrepreneurial and parental skills to launch the city’s first truly parent and baby friendly cafe, Fox & Kit, later this year.
After over 15 years in the hospitality industry working in bars, cafes, pubs and restaurants, Flis Weeks’ own maternity leave was an eye opener – as she struggled to find an accessible, child-friendly space in the city to meet the needs of parents.
Drawing on her own experiences, Flis took matters into her own hands, and is now looking forward to launching her own project which fuses her own passion for great service along with her new role as Mummy to 20 month-old Nola.
She said: “The idea came to me as a result of many months of trekking around our beautiful city, trying and failing to find the perfect place to caffeinate myself after yet another sleepless night, but also to comfortably ‘be’ with my daughter.
“I needed somewhere to feed and change her – but trying to find somewhere I could even get through the door with a buggy and shopping in tow was a nightmare.
“I soon got chatting to other parents – and it turns out I’m not alone in these daily struggles.” The Fox & Kit cafe idea was soon born.
“The support I’ve had on social media already has been outstanding. Fox & Kit cannot wait to welcome the parents of Bath for that wonderful – and rare – thing: a cuppa drunk whilst still hot!”
The cafe will offer all of the practical facilities on a new parent’s checklist plus food, Round Hill Roastery coffee, and above all a friendly welcome.
The space aims to allow parents and caregivers to relax in a well-designed comfortable environment which also allows little ones to play with lovely age appropriate toys and books.
After putting everything she has into the project, Flis is now using popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter to encourage local parents and business people to help bring the cafe to life, and plans to open in Spring 2018.
“Fox & Kit will be a place of solace for the parents of Bath.” You can see the full crowdfunding campaign, including video, here.
Pledges go towards the funding goal and pledgees can choose from a range of exciting rewards to redeem once the space opens its doors. For Flis, this means that the local community can get involved and have a real sense of ownership from the very beginning.
She added: “Funding is ‘all-or-nothing’ so the campaign must reach its target of £40k within the running time of 60 days which ends in the first week of February.
“I’m excited to see where Fox & Kit goes – and for the many parents of Bath to have their own oasis of calm. I urge everyone to get behind the campaign and for us to have our own important addition to Bath’s vibrant city life.”
