La Tasse Gamine

“So many cafés and restaurants these days could use a touch of kid-friendliness: settling in with children is enough to draw a few sideways looks. People believe that children will be noisy and distracting,” says April Defalco, who runs La Tasse Gamine with partners Stacy Babbington and Stephanie Garner. “Here, it’s the other way around: it’s weird if you show up alone without kids,” she continues. “It’s a little-known fact, but it can be hard for a new parent to meet other parents and socialize. That is precisely what we are here to help facilitate.”

The idea came to April and Stacy following the closure of their favourite café. “We were part of a club of moms who met in a café in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce," April recalls. "One day, much to our dismay, the owner told us of his café’s imminent closure. He half-jokingly told us: ‘You should open your own café.’ We laughed it off at first, but after a few short seconds, we looked at each other and said: ‘Hey, why not?’ Fast-forward through a year and a half of planning, and we welcomed La Tasse Gamine’s first customers in 2010.”