How ZZZ uses our cafe EPOS to run ‘3 or 4 businesses in one’
"There's stuff there in the background that has allowed us to develop as we evolved the food and drink side."
ZZZ is a place for families to play, eat, exercise and connect, and it uses Tabology’s cafe EPOS to help run multiple aspects of their business. Nestled in the village of Stockton Heath, co-founders Dan and Liv built it to be the opposite of those play spaces that fill parents with dread – think chaos, noise, lukewarm coffee in a polystyrene cup.
"We wanted to create a play space for kids that parents can enjoy rather than endure," says Dan. "Somewhere you'd go even if it weren't a play space – good coffee, good sandwiches, a nice environment. We want to be the antidote."
It's a simple idea with a surprisingly complex business underneath it. Open from 8am to catch the early risers, busiest between 10 and 12, with fitness for mums, sensory sessions for babies, and a childcare-led studio slot where parents can get a proper workout while their kids are entertained – ZZZ is, as Dan puts it, "managing three or four businesses in one."
From financial services to flat whites
Dan spent 20 years in financial services before spotting a gap in his local village. His partner, Liv, who had also grown tired of a corporate career in recruitment, came on board too. They had experience with child-centred businesses after taking on a Cricket Tots franchise, but even that couldn’t prepare them fully for ZZZ – a project that quickly grew beyond the original plan.
"It kind of spiralled," Dan admits. "We started with a studio, realised we needed somewhere for kids to play, then ended up with a full-blown café/restaurant. It was almost accidental."
Accidental or not, building something from scratch in a sector neither of them had worked in before brought its challenges. They were nervous about the food and beverage side, partnering with a local coffee firm to help bridge the knowledge gap, and hiring a new chef as the menu evolved. "It always feels like you're executing and learning at the same time," he says. "Constantly evolving, constantly developing."
The challenge: running three businesses under one roof
When it came to technology, Dan had assumed they'd need something simple. "At the start, we thought we just needed a little Shopify-style setup, with a basic terminal and card machine. It turned out that what we actually needed was a million miles away from that."
With orders needing to route across different areas of the venue – the cafe, the play space, the studio – they needed a system that could keep pace with the concept. Tabology came recommended by their accountant, and after speaking with the team, the decision wasn't a difficult one.
"Glenn (one of Tabology’s Onboarding Experts) was brilliant," Dan says. “Everything we needed, he was just able to set up for us, no problem.”
The solution: an all-in-one cafe POS system to keep a steady flow of customers
One of the things that sets ZZZ apart from a typical drop-in play space is how deliberately the experience is managed. Customers book in advance, just as they would at a restaurant, which means the team always knows what's coming.
Tabology's booking system has been central to that from the start – including the deposit feature, which ZZZ uses for special events (such as Breakfast with Rapunzel), where the deposit is applied directly toward food spend. The loyalty scheme, set up at 2% cashback, has also helped to drive membership sign-ups since opening.
When it comes to the EPOS itself, Dan's fintech background means he came in with a clear eye for systems. He's been able to teach himself the EPOS platform, but has been more impressed with how easily some of his younger staff have been able to pick it up. One young part-timer, who runs Saturdays at ZZZ, took to it immediately. "She's only 16 but she's really good. We've thrown a lot at her. She's able to manage the products easily – the other day she was adding a new chamomile tea to the menu from her laptop while she was on the bus to school."
Getting it right before getting bigger
ZZZ opened in September 2025, and for now, the focus is on perfecting the model. "We want to understand what we've learned," Dan says. "When you're operating at pace, you have to hit the ground running. The system has given us the foundation to do that. There's stuff there in the background that has allowed us to develop as we evolved the food and drink side."
For a business that was never supposed to be a café, a fitness studio and a play space all at once, it's turned into something rather special. The antidote, it seems, was worth building.
If you run a hospitality business that has many facets, whether it’s a cafe with a play space and studio, or something else, you need an EPOS system that’s flexible enough to work the way you do. If you want to see what that looks like,
book a free demo with our friendly experts, who can show you what Tabology can do for a business like yours.
