Tweet Sweet

In my last posting about The Chocolate Bar, I linked to the CitySearch review of the shop (since they didn’t have a website) and noticed they had a User Reviews section near the bottom of the page. The first of the User Reviews was from a previous Chocolate Bar customer who commented the following:

“…But I have to say something about the review posted about the lady who brought her children and believes she was treated rudely. The name and the sloagan include the words “bar” and “happy hour” which should be the first indication that this store is geared towards adults. Secondly, the store is full of molded chocolate which equals FRAGILE items. If she was asked to leave, maybe it was because she was not supervising her children…”

She was referring to a previous post:

“You’d think that an ice cream/candy store would welcome children. I went there with my neighborhood playgroup today (babies and toddlers) and the owner had the nerve to come out and ask our children not to run around the tables. The place was empty and they were not touching merchandise or anything, just souped up on sugar and playing. We tossed our half-eaten ice cream and cookies and left. There are much more friendly dessert spots in Houston with equally good or better treats.”

So that begs the question - how kid friendly should Tweet Sweet be?
And HOW do you make a sweet shop kid-friendly? (or perhaps I should say “kid tolerant”?) Now I have to mention that two other of the 30 comments listed mentioned that it was a great place for kids, so perhaps it was just a bit too much for the “neighborhood play group” all hopped up on sugar. But does “sweets” always mean it’s for kids?

I don’t have kids myself, but I’ve been around quite a few kids in their environment (ie Chuck-e-Cheese’s at lunch time) and it’s quite a sight to see. Kids are active, and love to touch and play with things as well as see them… they still are exploring their senses. The way I’ve always envisioned Tweet Sweet is as a “nice place”. A place where kids are welcome but on their best behavior. I see the place as a dessert shop that appeals more to a late-night sweet connoisseur than a penny-candy store that appeals to munchkins with pockets loaded with dad’s change. Of course I have no doubt that the children will be dazzled by the desserts just as much as mom and dad, but in a restaurant atmosphere and with restaurant manners.

So how do I do this? I think a lot has to do with the atmosphere, the brand, the packaging… the overall look-n-feel of Tweet Sweet. I think we are trained as adults to know how to behave by the way something looks. In addition to brand, a lot of that has to do with product line. Are the chocolate novelties more appropriate for kids? Or do their price-points, size, and appearance make them more suitable for adults?

Any more ideas on this? Your comments and ideas are welcome.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 16th, 2006 at 9:27 am and is filed under Sweet Ideas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.