Amid pandemic, new children's boutique, play space opens in North Hills

Sanaa Alyemeni had a different vision for Alara + Zane's grand opening.

The children's boutique and play space in North Hills was originally slated to open in early April, but the COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans — and any big celebratory grand opening just as the business opened.

But, after putting the business on pause for a couple of months, Alara + Zane is now open. Shoppers can make appointments to choose from Alyemeni's selection of clothing and toys for kids, ages 0 to 6. She's launched an online shop, which hadn't been part of her original plans. And while the play space is closed for public play, for now, it will be open for birthday parties and private rentals starting next month.

"It's a little anticlimactic. I'm not going to lie," Alyemeni said. "I don't get to do the big grand opening party we had planned and all the exciting things around that. Just seeing kids and family come in and be excited and play. That's not going to happen right off the bat, but I know it will. And, for now, we'll try to make the shopping experience as fun as possible."

Alyemeni, once a director of finance at a clinical research company, has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, she said. Her father launched businesses and her sister opened Layered Croissanterie last year.

"I wanted to create something that I had been thinking about for quite some time," she said. "I felt like Raleigh was really missing a good kids boutique. I wanted to be able to offer that to Raleigh, which is now such a diverse population with people traveling here from all over the world. But I wanted it to be more."

Said Alyemeni: "I want to go out to places with my kids. My kids want to go to places, and there's a lot to do in Raleigh, but there's also space for more."

Her vision is a destination for families with young kids — a place for kids to play and parents to shop and learn. Here's what Alyemen's plans call for.

Play Space

Alara + Zane sits on the Midtown Park side of North Hills inside a 4,000-square-foot storefront. About half of the space is the play area, a collection of rooms with everything from a big slide to arts and science activities and dress up and pretend play. It's designed for kids ages 0 to 5.

The business will eventually offer day passes and memberships. For now, it will only be open for private rentals, which will allow the business plenty of time to clean the play space between events. Bookings begin in July.

"When the pandemic has settled down, we'll have some staff in there with an educational background or who have been a preschool teacher who can do improvised storytimes and games," Alyemeni said. Some activities will be on a schedule and others will pop up as kids filter through the space.

"It's just nice to have an ever-changing and fresh space because we can tailor it to the guests that are there during the day," she said.

Boutique

When stocking the boutique, Alyemeni looked for comfortable, everyday easy wear for kids that won't look like anything you might pick up at a big box store. Several of the lines she carries are organic and sustainable.

"We try to be trend forward," she said. "There are some more unique pieces. ... I spent a lot of time at trade shows, looking through all the different brands and their mission and their story, in addition to quality and the practices they take."

In addition to clothes, the shop also sells children's shoes, eco-friendly toys and books. Sizes go up to 6 years, but she hopes to carry larger sizes eventually.

Starting last week, she opened the shop up for private appointments. The play space will not be open, but families can bring their kids and the shop will have activities for them. Most of the store's inventory also can be purchased online.

Learning

Alyemeni also hopes to eventually offer educational programs for parents, partnering with local doulas, lactation consultants, sleep consultants, home organization specialists and more.

"I'll listen to the feedback of Raleigh area parents and see what kinds of classes they would want," she said.

For now, she's considering offering some virtual classes, but hasn't made any plans yet.

For more information, check out Alara + Zane's website.

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