A Haven for "Tweens" at Fairfax's club between

"I'm bored! There's nothing to do!" In answer to that age-old favorite complaint of the 8- to 12-year old, or "tweenager" group, Marin mom of two tween daughters Jules Howard has just opened club between in Fairfax. Club between is a high-tech interactive entertainment center and lounge for children aged 8 to 12, featuring boys' and girls' lounges with Wii, sports arcade games, foosball, air hockey, computers, board games, movie night, and more! They also offer meals delivered from nearby Iron Springs Brewpub and party rentals.

Club between is located at 771 Center Boulevard, in Fairfax. Call them at (415) 459-2582 or visit www.clubbetween.com. Summer hours are Wednesday 4–6 pm, Thursday 4–9 pm, and Friday and Saturday 5–10 pm; closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Prices start at $8.50 an hour (with reservations) and $10 an hour (drop-in).

Marin Mommies.com asked Jules to tell us about herself, her background, and her unique new business.

Please tell us about yourself. What is your background?

I grew up on an apple farm in Sebastopol. At 10 years old, I drove a tractor, learned carpentry, and helped my dad run a Gravenstein Apple farm. I spent my summers harvesting, making apple juice, woodworking, sewing, painting, drawing, writing, and cooking. In college I studied advertising, but got into investment banking because it was more fast and exciting, which is where I was at 25 years old. The market turned around, and I found myself at Ernst & Young Consulting in recruiting. I met my husband while on vacation in Sun Valley, Idaho, and today have two daughters, ages 10½ and 8 years old.

As a stay-at-home mom and housewife, I made a huge effort to plan and design parties for  ourselves and my husband’s clients. I was told on many occasions that I should have some kind of party business or get into interior design.

There was a vision of my future, but raising my two daughters was my most important factor. I did start a small business building children’s play furniture from recycled wood. But when my husband broke his back from a cycling accident, I had to stop to care for him.

I then met a woman who also loved party planning.  We started a small event design business, but because of our conflicting schedules, decided to go our own ways.

What was your inspiration to create club between?

It all started during spring break. It was cold and rainy. My daughters were driving me nuts, with their “I’m bored”.  I then realized that there really is nothing to do in Marin County for the “tweenagers”. I had the house that all the tweens liked to come to, because I designed “the playroom”. But having all the kids over at your own home all the time, gets really old.  Enter club between.  I envisioned a “recreation room” for tweens, where parents can drop them off.  I wanted it to look more homey, than commercial. I wanted them to walk in and want to stay. One day I turned on the Today Show, and they were showing the hosts playing Wii, and how these Wii bars were opening up in Manhattan for adults. Hmmm. My brain started churning.

I wrote a business plan, and gave it to my husband, who is a financial advisor. He said, “You need to figure out a business that people need.” Need. He also said, “If you can find a space that we don’t have to spend too much money on, then go for it.” I looked at spaces for 3 months. I had important factors in location: 1) It had to be near a restaurant, 2) plenty of safe parking 3) near schools, and 4) it had to have 3 separate rooms already built out. I found the perfect space. Not only was this place perfect, it already had an outlet in the ceiling of the girls’ lounge for the disco ball! It was fate.

club between will also be available for party rental. Anyone who rents out club between will have exclusive use of club between by the hour. It includes dishes, silverware, drink ware, themed cloth napkins, and a T-Shirt for the Guest of Honor. The club also has a refrigerator and a microwave.

What kind of response have you been getting for the club?

Being open for only a week, with no advertising or marketing, club between has been considerably busy. Parents are excited that they can easily call me up, make a reservation for their tween, drop them off and enjoy a quiet night out. The tweens are excited that they can spend the evening with their peers, playing on one of several Wiis, table games, board games, computer games, or just hanging out. The boys especially love that they have their own “boys’ lounge”.  There is something special about the boys having their own space.  They love flopping down on the huge beanbags and relaxing by either reading cool magazines or watching their friends play Wii.

How did you go about starting the business?

It all started out with the idea of having a clean, nice lounge for Tweens to hang out. The name, club between, just popped in my head. That was my advertising background.  I went to the City of Fairfax planning commission for a use permit. They approved of my idea. Then to my attornery, insurance broker, banker, website designer, accountant, merchant services, printer, Comcast, AT&T, and IT technician, and hiring staff. There are a lot of contacts before starting a business.

Then the labor of love began. I did all the painting, carpentry, and designing myself, down to building my desk with recycled wood, which is my favorite thing. I was at the club 12 hours a day, except for the days I wood worked which I did at home in my woodshop. The place looked great. I went for the coastal style, because I just love the store down the street, Beach House Style. It’s very cool and calming. I wanted a huge photo wall of tweens. My friend and local photographer, Stephanie Mohan, and I got together with a group of tweens and had a photo shoot at the beach. The photos turned out amazing. I worked with Best Buy, who gave me great deals on all the electronics and Wiis. I shopped online for all the table games, beanbags, furniture, and fun accessories. Amity Press printed my business cards, and window signage.

Mike at Iron Springs Pub and Brewery and I are cross promoting each other as well.  Tweens can order anything off the menu at Iron Springs, to be delivered to club between. Also, every 5 hours a Tween spends at club between, the parent gets one “beer chip”.  It all just came together after about 10 weeks. I sent out an email to a big distribution list that my girlfriend gave me, and that was it. I do plan on marketing to the schools once school begins. In November, I will have a retail area featuring popular things the tweens like. I am also meeting with TweenBeauty, an all natural product line for tweens which is also based out of Fairfax.

What do you like best about running your business?

Turning a blank canvas into a piece of art. I love design, color, furniture, and putting it all together. I love looking on the faces of the tweens when they walk through my doors, knowing this is their lounge. I guess I just like making people happy. 

What do you like best about living and working in Marin?

Marin is a beautiful county. I especially am a beach person. I feel lucky to live within 30 minutes of most of the beaches. Also, just out my front door is exceptional hiking up to  Pine Mountain Ridge. I have lived in the San Geronimo Valley for 11 years now, and have made many friends, who I know will be with me until our children go off to college. Starting a business in Fairfax, (which us Valley folk call “going over the hill”) has given me the chance to meet all the great parents who live in both Fairfax and San Anselmo.