WATCH: Toy Toon mums Katy Larkworthy and Jacqueline Main excited ahead of opening children's role play café
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CHILDHOOD friends and mums have become business partners as they launch a children's role play themed café called Toy Toon.
Katy Larkworthy and Jacqueline Main have drawn on their own experiences as mums with young children as they take their first step into the world of business.
Toy Toon includes an area for parents and children to have a drink and bite to eat, alongside a themed play area where youngsters can fire their imaginations in safety.
The have drawn on local landmarks and architecture for the business, which has been created in a former bookmakers store on the Elgin High Street.
Katy said: "We've been friends since 1996. We went to Bishopmill Primary School together, and we have grown up together. We got married at the same time, had our kids at the same time, we both went away to uni and got our degrees and then came back.
"Our children are the reason we are doing this. We never found somewhere that we, as adults, enjoyed visiting with them.
"We wanted to create a place that was safe for kids and looked nice for adults, and a decent menu for everybody."
They have created a hands-on play theme for the children and have drawn on local place names for inspiration.
The fire station is called Badenochs, the cafe is called Bytes after the one that was on the High Street, then ther eis Ladyhill hairdressers, Gray's greengrocers, Elginia Library after the dinosaur that was discovered locally, the hospital is called Alexander Hospital after Dr Gray and Cooper campsite.
AM Murray joinery built the play areas.
"We had silly little drawings and they brought it to life, they have done such a good job," added Katy.
Their logo takes inspiration from Dr Gray's Hospital where Katy works, and much of the artwork in the café comes from the local buildings around the High Street.
Katy (36) is now a bank nurse at Dr Gray's Hospital, while Jacqueline, also 36, was a primary school teacher, latterly at Hythehill Primary in Lossiemouth.
They approached Elgin BID for advice initially and then Business Gateway who provided support in drawing up a business plan.
Covid and the cost-of-living crisis has made the idea of launching a new business more daunting, but they are still excited at the proposition.
This is the first time they have been in business as individuals or together.
Katy said: "We have ripped everything out with our friends and family. Our logo has Dr Gray's, we have St Giles Church, the cathedral and Ladyhill, and these are the rooftops from the High Street which we took photos of and sent to our graphic designer to have them made into a cartoon for. Elgin is a really bonny place and I don't think people look up half as much as they should do."
The friends will do all the baking and cooking for the café, and fitted the kitchen themselves with some help.
Jacqueline added: "Our children have definitely been our greatest advisors and critics. They have led us to the shops we have at the moment. We have a supermarket and café, a wee campsite, a hairdresser, library, a construction site and fire station.
"At Halloween and Christmas we will have seasonal themes."
"A lot of people have said 'this is what Elgin really needs' and we have more than 2000 likes on Facebook so far."
You have to book to reserve a table during one of the four sessions each day.
Katy added: "People have been following us on social media and we have had so many people approach us when we have been in the shop. It doesn't feel such a big step now."
With the planned rejuvenation of the Cooper Park in Elgin, they wanted a High Street venue close to the park, and the former bookies shop is ideal.
Added Jacqueline: "It is a massive undertaking. We have our rent and rates. We have had a big (energy) bill so far in the two months we have been in, and that was only with power tools. So now our massive cake fridge has arrived, our electricity bill will go through the roof. We are here to succeed because it is important to have something like this locally."
With husbands who work offshore, the mums are moulding the business around their busy daily lives, getting children to nursery and school and the like.
And they hope that experience means their new venture will be a hit with mums and parents in similar situations.
Toy Toon opens on Monday, September 5 and you can find out more at https://toytoon.co.uk/
