Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorraine Costello.
Hi Lorraine, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Bio:
The Story Behind The Tree House:
My husband Thiago and I met, married, and had twins while working overseas in Sydney, Australia. During our time abroad, we noticed that play cafés—spaces where parents could meet, connect, and let their kids explore—were lifelines especially as new parents ourselves. When the pandemic hit, along with a touch of my homesickness for the US, we returned to the US, landing in South Florida to be closer to our families.
Thiago, who is Brazilian, spent a year navigating the green card process. During that time, he often took the twins to various indoor playgrounds. The South Florida heat and humidity made indoor play essential, but we found that the available options didn’t quite match the warm, personal feel we were searching for. The small, owner-operated spots were clean and well-managed but didn’t hold the kids’ attention for long, while the larger playgrounds had more for the kids to do but often felt dark, impersonal, and often unkempt.
The idea for The Tree House was born out of these experiences—and we couldn’t shake it. We decided to take the leap and bring our vision to life. Thiago’s background in civil engineering and construction, combined with my experience in marketing and customer experience working in high growth tech companies, along with being parents ourselves, gave us the perfect foundation to turn this dream into reality. We often get asked if the Tree House is a franchise and the answer is no. We design the space and the experience from the ground up.
Our first location in Fort Lauderdale celebrated its second birthday in October. We took everything we learned and loved about Fort Lauderdale and opened our second location in Pompano Beach in September. The local growth and vibrant, family-centric community in Pompano make it the ideal home for Tree House #2. Spanning 13,000 square feet, our new play, party, and cafe space at Pompano Citi Centre is well regarded (and Google reviewed) as a clean, safe, inviting play space designed for parents with children ages 1-8.
We look forward to welcoming Pompano families to our space. Come check us out and please say hello when you do. You’ll often see us or our little ones, Max & Chloe, running around 🙂
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When we started out we knew nothing of designing, building, or running an indoor playground and party venue. We had to learn everything from ground zero often times through trial and error. This included everything from playground manufacturing, technology decisions, staffing, operations, you name it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Tree House Entertainment Group?
We are an indoor play cafe located in South Florida. We specialize in upscale family experiences, whether it’s a fun play date or celebrating life milestones like birthdays. Each of our locations feature large play areas zoned by age, a small arcade, a cafe that specializes in family friendly menu, and party venue. We offer all day play, which is unique from other playgrounds that limit play time (usually to 2 hours). Our birthday parties are a key differentiator for us with bespoke, all-inclusive party celebrations. We offer an in-house design and event planning team that work closely with parents on each party. We’ve hosted over 500 birthday celebrations since 2023 with rave reviews and families that come back to celebrate each year. Parties are our passion and treat each celebration as if it were our own.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The biggest characteristic that’s key to our success is the Tree House team. We have a high bar for who we hire, how we train, and manage. We have a bright team that truly cares about our families that visit the Tree House. We believe when you hire the right people and treat them well, they will in turn, treat our families well. Those families will come back, leave reviews and tell their friends and family about us. You feel the difference from the moment you enter until the time you’re trying desparately to get your kids out the door.
Pricing:
- All Day Pass 6-23 Months
- All Day Pass 2 Years +
- 1, 3, and 12 Month Memberships
- All-Inclusive Party Packages
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.treehouseindoorplay.com
- Instagram: @treehouseindoorplay
Image Credits
Family photo: Kamy Photographie
Other photos: Betta Films
