We often find ourselves strolling past a former Victorian pub at the corner of Tyers and Johnathan St. in Vauxhall and long ago consigned it to ‘jinxed property’ status, as it’s variously been occupied by everything from a creche to a jujitsu studio. It’s with great glee that we can announce that it’s now a community owned coffee shop called Roam with a soft play and role play area downstairs. And for those of you unaware of the concept of soft and role play, it’s about toddlers playing on safe surfaces as opposed to what you might undertake on any given Saturday night.

On the tranquil ground floor Roam serves the usual battalion of pastries in addition to espressos, flat whites, and soft drinks. Our tea was just £1.50. For those lucky/unlucky enough to have little ones, there is a lift down to the basement café. For £4.50 parents can enjoy a range of toys and activities suitable for under 5’s, and they even have a slide. Again, we’d like to remind our readers that the slide is just for kids. In our now famous clandestine guise as normal people, we got chatting with the owners who explained that the concept was derived from them being mothers of little ones themselves and were seeking a place where both the kids and parents can have some variety while chatting with other parents. Both owners also live locally, which we found doubly exciting.  

The ingenious concept behind Roam is that you can support a children’s café without actually having to see children. Don’t get us wrong, we love kiddos. In fact some of us in the office were once actual children ourselves. The Observer celebrates every (good) local enterprise which occupies vacant spaces and especially those which are female owned and operated. On your next work from home day, check them out and end the cycle of jinxism!