One brick at a time, Andrew Haagensen is building a kingdom where kids can have play and parents can relax.
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Andrew is the owner of The Brick Lounge, a LEGO cafe that opened in the Star Court Arcade in April.
The idea for the cafe came to Andrew after looking for things to do with his kids, Talia, 11, Ethan, 9, and Piper, 6, and realised Lismore had lost a lot of its activities for kids in the 2022 flood.
"I was just waiting for someone to open something up," he said.
"I saw a reel about a LEGO cafe in America. I did a bit of Googling and found a place in the UK that does something like this, and they are doing really well."
The cafe has a fenced in area with a LEGO pit for creative play, that costs $10 an hour.
You can also choose a set to make and they range from $10 to $20 to build, depending on the set. And there is a free DUPLO table for the younger kids.
The cafe offers light snacks, coffee and drinks available.
"My goal is not to compete on the cafe side of things - Lismore's got heaps of good cafes."
Rather he wants to provide a place where kids and parents can have a good time, and it doesn't blow the budget.
While its a project started as a legacy for his kids, Andrew admits he is a huge LEGO fanatic.
"My first-ever set was the Wild-West Goldmine, a set that came out in the 90s. It was cool," Andrew said.
Surrounding him in the shop are some of his favourite LEGO sets he has collected since then - there's a model of the Razor Crest spaceship from The Mandalorian, dragons, and his favourite, castles.
Fortunately, Andrew's kids also love LEGO and are regulars in the shop, helping organise the sets.
The business has started slowly, balancing his work as a tradie with the demands of the new shop.
The Brick Lounge is usually open on Saturdays, but will be open during the school holidays.
Andrew hopes he can open more days in the future, and encourages people to book a session for a birthday party, a play group, or groups.
He has plans to expand the offerings in future. He hopes to start LEGO Clubs - one where you can make stop frame animations of LEGO using a tablet, and use some of the bigger sets.
And another where membership gives you the chance to build a bigger, more expensive sets.
The Brick Lounge will be open over the school holidays from Monday to Saturday from 10am until 5pm. Book via messenger on The Brick Lounge Facebook site.
