A community for young and old
Lipscomb alumna Lainey Webb opens play cafe in Crieve Hall community, serving both kids and their caregivers.
By Sophia Skelton |
If there is one thing that Lipscomb alumna Lainey (Rumans) Webb (BS ’17) learned through her journey of motherhood during difficult pregnancies, it was the importance of community.
That is what drove her in 2025 when she and her husband Corley (LA ’13) opened a new business in Nashville’s Crieve Hall area, Music Sippy Social, an indoor playground and cafe specifically designed to nurture community among families.
The thoughtful layout anticipates the needs of each of the customers Music Sippy Social serves. For children ages 9 and under, the play space provides safe, community-focused activity in a spacious, colorful and light environment, complete with pretend storefronts to encourage young imaginations.
For parents, the cafe provides a full drink menu, featuring specialty drinks, such as the Sweet Wildflower, a sparkling water lemonade with a lavender twist, and a spacious seating area for conversation.
The community-focused character of the play cafe concept appealed to Webb as she had recently experienced health issues during pregnancies, difficult postpartum experiences and today’s often-lonely motherhood journey as a mom of three, all under age 5.
Music Sippy Social’s mission is centered around creating a space where moms, parents, dads, caregivers, nannies, grandparents or whoever is in the season of raising and taking care of littles can come, feel seen and be taken care of, said Webb.
“I always dreamed of opening my own business, but I never knew what that would look like,” Webb said. “I came across another mom who has opened a play cafe in Virginia. In this season of postpartum, I was like, this is what I want to do. I want to build something for moms and caregivers. I really wanted to design something for moms where they can come in, and feel like, ‘Oh, you thought of everything.’”
A conversation with her husband in August 2024 catapulted the vision into reality. Recognizing a need in her own Crieve Hall neighborhood and believing that this was the time to pursue it, “I just realized if we don’t do this now, someone else will,” Webb said.
The Webbs began researching other play cafes, connecting with another entrepreneur in the industry on social media, utilizing available educational resources and receiving mentorship from friends who were entrepreneurs. Incorporating Lainey’s knowledge from her Lipscomb education degree into the design, the Webbs built a business plan, resulting in opening Music Sippy Social’s doors in October 2025.
“Even though my health wasn’t great, and we were postpartum with our third baby, it gave me so much joy in that season…having this to pour into has given me such a good, hopeful outlet. I built it to serve other people, but it is also serving me in this season,” said Webb.
The Music Sippy Social team, including full-time manager Savannah Roberts (MFT ’17) and current Lipscomb students, places an emphasis on service. As well as operating the facility, the team serves drinks and snacks for caregivers, snack boxes and drinks for children and coordinates birthday parties held when the facility is rented for events.
“Whenever I hired all of my employees, one of the things we always talked about was… we’re making money second, making people feel seen first,” said Webb.
Going out of their way to remake a spilled snack box or making a new parent a handcrafted drink are some small ways they can serve, help reduce stress and make their customers feel valued, Webb said. The goal is “to make this a place for moms to want to come to, and feel like they get to take a load off when they are here,” she said.
Originally from Batesville, Arkansas, Webb’s Lipscomb experience has marked her journey in more ways than one. During her time as a student, she embarked on mission trips in Ghana and Arizona and had the life-changing opportunity to study abroad in Chile, said Webb.
After graduating, Webb taught at Ezell-Harding Christian School before moving to Chattanooga with her husband Corley, a Lipscomb Academy graduate and collegiate student-athlete at Trevecca Nazarene University. In Chattanooga she worked as an office manager in the construction department at Habitat for Humanity, a position that ended up providing knowledge of permits, codes and local governance, a big help for opening and running Music Sippy Social.
A variety of membership options offer caregivers the ability to customize their experience. Daily pass options, monthly, semi-annual and annual memberships are available, with perks including a free drink or buddy pass. Music Sippy Social also allows families to rent the space for two hours to hold a party, with cake and decorating services available, if requested.
A key element of Webb’s play cafe was designing the space around the idea that less is more. “I was very picky with the kind of things that we put in the play area,” said Webb, “because I knew from my own experience with motherhood, if there are too many options, they play for two seconds, and then they are done. If you have open-ended fewer options, they’re engaged. I get a lot of feedback from people that they’re not overstimulated by the play space, and I love the feedback.”
Intentional partnerships with businesses in the Crieve Hall neighborhood are very important to Webb. Current community partners for various items in the play space include Dr. Sandefur and her team from Paws & Claws Animal Hospital, who sponsored the veterinary clinic; Jamie Dorris and Katie Preston from James & Kate Homes who sponsored the play house; Rose Hill Flowers, who donated the flowers on display outside of the market; and Emmett Automotive, who sponsored the workbench.
“We wanted to highlight the businesses who are already in our neighborhood doing amazing things and have been here way longer than we have,” said Webb.
True to her motherhood traits, achieving and supporting a healthy work-life balance for both her and her team is important to Webb, as is being a fully present mother. With a people-first business model, Webb is excited about the opportunities for Music Sippy Social to grow and continue to support many Nashville families for years to come.