Kirkwood will soon have an elevated indoor playspace from Hannah and Alex Campbell, the former owners of Spencer’s Grill.
Slated to open in early December, Little’s Loft Play Café (117 Argonne) will include a Montessori-like gym with nature-inspired elements designed for ages 0–7. The play space will be completely contained, with a full café that offers full visibility into the playscape.
Little’s Loft will be open daily from 8 a.m.–2 p.m., providing an early option for parents with early-rising toddlers. Here’s what to know before you go.
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The Atmosphere
With a focus on elevated aesthetics, the Campbells selected local designer Aleksandr Sasha Malinich, principal at S.AMD—whose past projects include the Brasserie, Peacemaker STL, Vicia, Winslow’s Table, and Edera—to reimagine the interior of the 100-year-old building in downtown Kirkwood.
Everything about the space has been designed with families in mind, from high retail shelves beyond little ones’ reach to QR codes that allow parents to order without waiting in line.
The play structure itself has a treehouse-themed motif—an homage to the “loft” name—and was crafted by the UK-based company Tigerplay. Rolling play reservations can be made online; admission will be $11 for 60 minutes and $15 for 90 minutes, with additional infants 6 months and under getting in free. Families are given timers so they can give kids a heads up for when playtime is over. Fifteen kids are allowed in the space at a time, and memberships aren’t on offer to allow for maximum availability.
Parents can watch their kids play from just about every spot in the space, including seated at the café counter, and play facilitators will stand guard by the doors.
A sensory-friendly area gives kids or nursing moms who need it some breathing room, and two family bathrooms will be stocked with wipes. Diapers and socks will be available for purchase for inevitable diaper-bag packing fails. And a small retail section will feature books, mementos, accessories, skincare, candles, and baby essentials.
The Menu
No play reservation will be required to dine in the café, where the carefully crafted menu will include elevated items, such as bread and croissants from Companion, bagels from Bagel Union, and macarons from The Blue Duck.
Beyond the pastries, Little’s Loft will handcraft all of its food and beverages in house. Standouts for the grown-ups include the house-made biscuits, the Brunchwrap Supreme (scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, cheese, and fresh avocado in a flour tortilla), and the Caprese Panini on Ciabatta (fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, basil leaves, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze). A rotating daily soup option will be available in the colder months, and house and wedge salads will provide lighter options.
Kids will love the sack lunches (with a choice of turkey, roast beef, or ham sandwich, as well as chips, a fresh-baked cookie, and soda), pizza bagels, mac and cheese, donut holes, soft pretzel sticks, Belgian waffles, and cookie butter and banana sandwiches.
The entire café will be peanut-free, and in 2026, Campbell says a gluten-free menu is coming. (The Campbells, who have a child diagnosed with a peanut allergy and type 1 diabetes, know the struggles of eating at restaurants with food sensitivities.)
For those just looking to sip and savor family time, Little’s will have a variety of iced and hot coffee options, including lattes, cappuccino, and La Cosecha coffee.
Big Heart Tea, hot chocolate, and an array of milks, sparkling waters, and juices provide more options for the non-coffee crowd.
The Private Events
Little’s Loft will be open for private event rental each day at 2:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. Parties include full playspace access for up to 20 kids; food and drink options from the catering menu (including five pizzas for $50, sack lunches, pretzels served with ground mustard and beer cheese, warm pita and hummus served with roasted veggies, and a fruit platter); party facilitators; and a designated party room with a TV that can play slideshows, a full kitchenette and mini fridge, balloons, and interactive projection games. “The parents can literally just show up,” Hannah says.
With the elevated design and menu, Hannah has also received inquiries for adult birthdays. “A lot of people want to celebrate their birthday with their kids, where their kids can have fun and their friends with kids can have fun but the parents can enjoy themselves as well.”
Starting in 2026, the Campbells also plan to host family-oriented programming, such as mommy-and-me yoga classes, storytimes, CPR-certification classes, and music pop-ups.
More Photos of Little’s Loft Play Café
The Backstory
Hannah, whose third baby is due December 15, spent the past few years creating the space that she always needed and that she thinks other parents crave. During her first two trimesters, she felt isolated, a loss of identity, and nervous to leave the house, like many other moms she knows. Instead, she pictured a destination where parents could be with their kids while engaging with other adults.
“I think sometimes people think that the only way that you fill up your own cup is by disconnecting from your kids and getting away,” she says. “And something that I’ve found is that I actually feel the most fulfilled when I’m connected with my parent peers and with my kids. I still love to have my free time, but there is something really special about having the comfort of your friends, with their kids and your kids and seeing them play, and you guys are just, like, sharing the daily struggle or daily win or whatever… That’s what this journey is all about.”
That act of commiserating with a community of parents who are also “in the trenches” gets to the heart of the business’ mission. “I think as parents, we can get so down in the dumps with how hard it is,” says Hannah. “And that’s a validating experience. But also this is a short phase of life. These kids don’t stay little for long, and these times don’t last forever, and we do deserve to soak it up and soak it in.”
Campbell says she’s excited to serve the St. Louis-area parent community specifically because “they just get it” and know how to give grace to someone learning to do something for the first time. “People thought I was crazy when I couldn’t let this idea go,” Hannah says. “But I think that if you’re passionate about something, you have to find the people who are ready to cheer you on because…you’ll get told ‘no’ and ‘that’s not a good idea’ again and again. You literally have to find just a few people who believe in you, and that is who you listen to. That is your self-narrative, and that’s just what I did. If somebody didn’t believe in what my mission was, I was like, That’s just none of my business.”
As Hannah enters a new business venture while expecting baby Penelope, she knows one thing for certain: “I’m not going to have that isolation because, this time around, I’ve created the space and community I dreamt of.”
