Mendel Lefkowitz (left), 3, and his brother Levi, 1, play on Jungle Jumparoo, a new play structure at the Rumpus Room. The piece is one of several added under the new ownership of Heather Pelletier, who officially reopened the business Monday. (Hannah LaClaire / The Times Record)
BRUNSWICK– Heather Pelletier, an in-home daycare provider and a stay-at-home mom, was a regular at the Rumpus Room for nearly eight years when the business closed its doors for renovations in May.
A fun, safe indoor playground-type space to take her kids and her students for field trips, she said, the Rumpus Room was a place she and many other Brunswick families relied on for close to a decade. When five months passed and still no word about when the business would reopen, she called, never expecting that by the end of the phone call she would have made an offer to buy the business. But that’s what happened.
Monday, Pelletier reopened the Rumpus Room, three months after she took over the business.
At first, Pelletier kept everything the same to honor the place it held in the community and rebuild the trust of the people who felt let down when the business closed for so long. But once the holidays were over and 2019 was underway, Pelletier knew it was time for a face lift. She streamlined the flow of the rooms, added some newer, more updated equipment, including the Jungle Jumparoo and ball pit, and restructured the price structure.
Mason McDonald, 5, is buried in the ball bit at the Rumpus Room on Monday afternoon. (Hannah LaClaire/The Times Record)
“As a mom, having someplace clean, enclosed and safe where your kids can just be kids and give you a break” is really important, she said.
Her own kids, boys ages 3 and 7, have not seen the redeveloped space, but “they will be so stoked,” when they do, she said.
“(The Rumpus Room) is for the mom who has been up all night … to just sip coffee, chat with a girlfriend and keep an eye on her kids while they play,” she said. “Everything else is just bonus.”
Pelletier never planned to own something like the Rumpus Room — she always thought that when her kids were in school she would open a food-related business.
“But it just made sense,” she said of the new venture. “For the first time in 20 years, I get to just enjoy kids and not be the one responsible for them.”
By noon on Monday, the room was full of kids, from little babies in their mother’s arms to 5-year-olds jumping in the ball pit and sliding down the slide. It stayed busy all day, she said, adding that with the debut of the new set up, it was one of the smoothest days they have seen yet.
Kaila Masters, whose two daughters, Callie, 5, and Cori, 1, were zooming around the room, said they visit every few weeks, and that it is cleaner, better organized and has a better selection of toys now than it ever has.
Cori Masters, 1, rides a mini, kid-sized “roller coaster” at the Rumpus Room on Monday during the business’s reopening party. (Hannah LaClaire/The Times Record)
“It’s really fun for the kids,” especially in the winter, she said, “there’s not a lot like this in Brunswick.” It costs $10 for 90 minutes of play, with $5 per additional child and $2 per child for each additional 30 minutes.
Eventually, Pelletier hopes to introduce some evening hours and maybe even a date night one a month where parents can pre-register their kids for a night, drop them off and take a few hours to enjoy downtown Brunswick’s restaurants and shops. But for now, she’s getting used to the changes and settling in as the owner.
She hopes the business can grow as a place for kids to have parties or just run around and have fun while also offering a bit of a break for parents.
“Life is just good there,” she said.
The Rumpus Room is located at 9 Cumberland St. For more information call (207) 729-0123 or visit rumpus-room.com
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