In the decade Tamarah Howard spent working as a nanny and teacher in the Roaring Fork Valley, she kept hearing the same thing from mothers — they wanted more connection.
Many of the women had given birth or were single moms spending a lot of time at home alone with their infant.
She said they wanted “a space to get out and either meet other moms or just be around other adults,” especially during the long winter months.
Howard began envisioning an indoor play area where parents and caregivers could bring children and hang out together. Plenty of other towns and cities had similar spots, but not Carbondale.
Howard mentioned the idea to her former teaching colleague, Carolyn Stern, and the two became business partners.
After months of looking at rental spaces, they settled on a place in La Fontana Plaza. Months of designing and construction work followed to build out their vision, and on Jan. 19, Mountain Sprouts Play Cafe officially opened its doors.
Inside, it’s a kids’ paradise — bright with a large rainbow painted on one wall. It includes a large play structure with a slide, a climbing wall, a foam pit, and monkey bars. To test their creativity, there’s also a puppet theatre and costume zone.
For adults, there’s a coffee and tea bar at the front.
Mountain Sprouts also includes a dedicated infant area where parents can let their babies crawl around in a safe environment.
“We just saw a need for that,” said Stern. “It’s unique. I haven't seen that anywhere.”
In addition to Mountain Sprouts’ amenities, Stern and Howard are offering additional events and services: a drop-off movie night once a month, art and music classes and birthday parties.
But their primary goal is to foster unstructured play — an often-overlooked aspect of childhood. A wealth of research shows how playtime that isn’t organized or directed by adults is essential for children’s physical, emotional and social development.
So far, Howard said Mountain Sprouts is accomplishing that goal. The monkey bars have been particularly popular.
“We've seen kids just getting better at it and getting more confident, or bringing their friends in who maybe didn't do it the first time.”
The other big hit: “Definitely the foam pit,” said Howard.
In the future, she and Stern hope to offer more drop-off hours and potentially add more Mountain Sprouts locations elsewhere in the valley.
