Though Kansas is landlocked, a new concept has officially brought the beach (or at least the sand) to Johnson County this summer.
After watching indoor sandboxes in other metro areas across the country become popular on social media, Justin Finn and Molly Kavanagh said they knew they wanted to bring the concept home.
Since they opened their new Leawood concept last week, the husband-and-wife team said it’s been clear they weren’t the only ones looking for something like it. The indoor playground, Dozer, has already been teeming with kids looking for some sandy fun.
Dozer opened at 3812 W. 95th St.
- Dozer occupies a space at the Ranch Mart North shopping center, just off 95th Street and Mission Road.
- StretchLab previously occupied that space, before it closed earlier this year.
- Dozer is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Dozer offers an indoor bulldozing experience
Kids at the space can either walk in, or their parents can book a time online for them to come use Dozer’s sandbox.
“The joy that these kids get when they see this amount of sand and toys in one spot, it’s kind of like that Christmas morning feeling,” Kavanaugh said.
When they walk in, kids are greeted with a large sandbox along the space’s back wall, with small handheld bulldozers and other toys to play with.
“It’s high-quality, natural, silicone-free, dust-free and allergen-free sand,” Finn said. “It’s just a nice, slow environment for kids to kind of just do something different.”
Dozer has the capacity for roughly 15 to 20 kids 8 years old and younger in the sandbox at a time. Typical sessions at Dozer last one hour.
Later on, Dozer’s owners plan to partner with other community organizations to host construction-themed and STEM-related events for kids. Kavanagh also hopes to launch a “Daisy Dozer” program, which will connect girls with female professionals in the construction and architecture industries.
Another location is coming soon
After opening Dozer’s flagship location, expansion is already on the horizon for the Leawood-based concept.
Later this year, another Dozer location will open off 151st Street and Nall Avenue in Leawood. That one is currently slated for a late summer or early fall opening.
When deciding where to bring Dozer, Finn and Kavanagh said Leawood seemed like a perfect fit of the enthusiastic and family-oriented feel of the community.
“We’ve had really overwhelming support and love from this community,” Kavanagh said. “I’m really in awe of how supportive and how excited people are.”
In the long run, the couple said they hope their own three children will also get involved with Dozer. In fact, their 3-year-old son, Jack, already loves his time in the sand in their backyard.
With Dozer, they said that’s ultimately the goal — bringing kids a fun way to pass the time that doesn’t involve looking at a screen. After all, that’s how they grew up.
“We grew up with a backyard, a basketball, a baseball (bat) or a garden hose,” he said. “We wanted to kind of get away from iPads and different tablets and things like that as much as possible, and just let kids be kids.”
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