Kid-Friendly Places to Shop
in the greater Rochester, NY area

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to relax and conduct the business you need to without being interrupted by a bored, whining 3-year old?

A KOA reader noted that some businesses in the greater Rochester area, while not themselves focused on children, provide a "child-friendly" atmosphere that makes it easy for parents to visit their establishment. Such companies provide toys or a play area to keep kids occupied, which frees parents to focus on what they came to do. While KidsOutAndAbout.com addresses this to some extent in our Kid-Friendly Restaurants section, we thought that other individual businesses deserve some special recognition here. If you know of other cafés, offices, stores, etc., like this, please email us with the venue's name and location. They deserve our gratitude and our patronage!

• The Creator's Hands, in the High Falls area of Rochester. Chris LeBeau write: "The store, which carries artisan-made gifts (many of them local), has the best kids' play area I've ever seen. It's an enclosed, architect-designed space that can be seen and/or heard from everywhere in the store. So many shops with kids' areas put them in the back of the store, so I never even use them because I can't see my daughter. But at The Creator's Hands, it's on the second level, right behind the cashier desk, and it's fabulous. I have a hard time getting my daughter to leave!

• Three Wegmans stores in the area (Ridgemont, Penfield, and Eastway) have Wkids Fun Centers - secure, supervised areas where children ages 3-8 play while parents shop. Wegmans was actually rated the most family-friendly supermarket chain in America by Child magazine.

• Grossman's Country Nursery on Route 250 in Penfield has a number of great "Backyard Adventure" playgrounds set up that kids can play on while their parents shop for plants (and consider buying a "Backyard Adventure" set).

• Gymboree locations in the malls have child-sized chairs and age-appropriate videos.

• Lu's Back Door, a consignment shop in Fairport, has a small TV set with child-sized chairs surrounding it, which plays movies for kids while their parents shop. Corner of Route 31F and Jefferson Rd, 585-377-4008.

• The Barnes and Noble in Pittsford Plaza has a train set and other toys for kids to play with in the kid's section. It's such a big place, though, that you shouldn't leave your kids unsupervised in that area.

• Canaltown Coffee Roasters in Pittsford Village has a little cupboard of toys behind the counter.

• The Starbucks on Route 441 and Five Mile Road has a little toy corner.

• Many Brueggers bagel shops have toys or places where children can amuse themselves while parents stand on line.