Business Profile: Jack’s Clubhouse, Brewster
When children come to Jack’s Clubhouse, owner Leanne Murphy really wants them to unplug. In a world where children at increasingly younger ages are hooked on computers and mesmerized by screens, the concept of running around seems to be lost.
“If you do take those away, they really do start to get the imagination going,” Murphy said.
Opened since October, Jack’s Clubhouse has been the place for children 10 and under to enjoy an open indoor space and simply have fun without staring at a screen or feeding coins into a machine. Though there is an indoor play facility in Mahopac, the Brewster/ Carmel area were lacking a place of its own until Murphy stepped in.
“We don’t have the video games, we don’t have a ton of sensory information bombarding the kids,” Murphy said. “When they come in they can pretty much just come and use their imagination. They can play.”
Murphy, who is a psychology professor at Westchester Community College, is at the clubhouse seven days a week where classes and programs take place, birthday parties are scheduled every weekend, and walk-in traffic is also seen each day. Parents who bring their children also have the convenience of free Wi-Fi in case they have to do work while their children are playing.
There is one play area for sitters/crawlers/early walkers and another play area for bigger kids.
Once Murphy and her husband Keith found a location to start the business, the two with the help of an architect, brought the vision to life. The couple did all the construction by themselves but the play structure, which was done by the manufacturer to ensure safety. Building the walls, laying the floors and all the painting were done by Leanne and Keith, which took three months over the summer.
Murphy never envisioned she would one day have her own business, but when the couple moved to Putnam County and couldn’t find a quality indoor play area nearby, they decided to be the solution.
“We saw a need for it and we knew it was something we could do and something we would love to do,” Murphy said. “And a place where we would be happy to bring our kids to work.”
Speaking of Murphy’s children, her son Jack, who the clubhouse is named after, and her daughter Chloe, which has a café inside named after her, reap the most benefits. The two young children have made several news friends since Murphy opened and have their own personal playground to run around in anytime.
Murphy considers Jack her ambassador because of the energy he brings and how popular he is with visitors.
“They haven’t gotten bored yet so I think we’re doing alright,” she said.
Jack’s Clubhouse is located at 979 Route 22 (across from Bull and Barrel) in Brewster. Its phone number is 845-278-7529 and its website is jacksclubhouse.com.
