By By Uriah Aguon Pacific Daily News
A new indoor playground, Raven鈥檚 Wonderland, and a new coffee shop, Wondrous Cup Caf茅, opened in Yigo in the same building as the World of Wonder daycare centers, making the whole setup a one-stop area for parents.
This was what Minette Dizon had in mind when she leased a multi-business space behind Bank of Guam鈥檚 Yigo location years back.
The indoor playground and coffee shop held their soft opening on July 1. The grand opening is projected to be during the first week of August.
Dizon, an administrator of Escola Guam Enterprises LLC, opened the first of these businesses, World of Wonder daycare centers, in October 2018.
鈥淚 needed a place for my daughter to go during the day, and I wasn鈥檛 content with what was available, so I opened my own,鈥 Dizon told the Pacific Daily News in an interview. 鈥淚t took 21 months, but eventually it was there.鈥
Following that same vein, Dizon eventually thought up plans for an indoor playground and caf茅 for parents and their children to use outside of daycare hours, something the Yigo community could also participate in.
She concepted Raven鈥檚 Wonderland and the Wondrous Cup Caf茅 as answers to common inconveniences parents at her daycare center would discuss with her.
鈥淚鈥檓 always hesitant to make my child play in public places, especially if I don鈥檛 know how it鈥檚 cleaned,鈥 Dizon said. 鈥淚t was super expensive in the mall. I got tired of my daughter asking me to go to the mall so she could play, so when the opportunity came where this space became available, I decided to open up an indoor playground. I鈥檓 [also] opening it up in Yigo, because there鈥檚 no child entertainment, family entertainment place in Yigo.鈥
Dizon ensured that the play area would close one hour after the daycare so children who are picked up at closing still have an hour to play.
Additionally, she made sure the caf茅 opens when the daycare opens for parents to grab breakfast on their way to work or food for their child鈥檚 lunch.
Cleanliness, sanitation, and affordability were important to Dizon鈥檚 business model.
She noted some of the playground鈥檚 unique features: a ball cleaner for the ball pit, sanitary spray bottles spread throughout the space, and slippers at the entrance to the bathroom.
Another part of her business model that Dizon is proud of is her hiring demographic.
Dizon prioritized hiring younger applicants because she knew few other employers were willing to do so.
鈥淎 lot of our employees are high school students or recently graduated students,鈥 Dizon said. 鈥淎 lot of employers will shy away from hiring inexperienced people, but they鈥檙e doing so well, and a lot of it is because of the training that we provided.鈥
Dizon said the company hired consultants to do food safety training, in line with how they train daycare employees.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud that I took that risk to hire inexperienced people because they鈥檙e doing so good. I think it鈥檚 also the natural tendency for me to mentor, because I had good mentorship when I was in high school,鈥 Dizon said.
The joint businesses, which took nine months to open from lease signing, offer a play area large enough for parents to enter, a private party venue, and a cafe serving Seattle鈥檚 Best Coffee.
The cafe also offers a variety of food vendors from across the island, such as Gourmet Guam, ASAP Bakery, and Pop鈥檚 Bakery.
Dizon plans to launch party packages and promotions, aiming to provide a one-stop service for parents and children.
Updates will be posted on the businesses鈥 social media pages at 671_ravenswonderland and wondrous_cup on Instagram.