I know that most people wouldn't think of either of these are kid friendly, but in we had the perfect afternoon this weekend visiting both. We had two friends in town, one who lives in Portugal but is from here, and another from Richmond, so we wanted to show them some fun local places. O'Connor is a Norfolk staple that has grown since 2010. During the afternoon and early evening you can find people of all kinds, including lots of families here. There is seating both inside and out. I'd recommend sitting outside with your toddler so you can catch the frequent trains going by and kids can run around. Inside there is a large chalkboard wall that kids can draw on and family games like corn hole and the large Jenga.
We left there and headed over to Hank's Filling Station which is a backyard bar on Colley full of games and space to move around. Hank's is named after Norfolk local James Hankins, who has an awesome background in the racing field. The place has an old school gas station theme, but makes you feel like you're hanging in your friend's awesome backyard- you get all of the benefits, but don't have to do any of the work. There is a fire pit, corn hole, ring toss, bocce ball, foosball, ping pong, and a giant connect four. If that's not enough, the place is pet friendly and has good food. Check out the picture of our "pickle flight" which had cucumbers, onions, carrots, and green beans. Almost all of their food is from local farms too. Their beer list includes tons of craft beer and ciders.
Like O'Connors, this place is full of families during the afternoon and early evening and becomes a more adult atmosphere later in the night. Both places are full of events too. We happened to be there while they were raising money for Out Of The Darkness, which supports suicide prevention.
What I really appreciate about both of these places is their understanding of young families who want to both do adult things like drink craft beer, and be with their kids. Neither one is a kids place, but both have gone out of their way to put things in place to entertain both kids and adults. There is nothing better than watching your kid play while you get to enjoy a meal... that isn't pizza at a kid's place. (Not that I don't love a good slice of pizza.)
And a selfie for good measure, because this kid keeps me laughing. So glad we were able to get out of the house and spend some time with friends this weekend. I was glad for the down time that the storm allowed, but was tired of being indoors and having everything closed! Glad we made it safely through, and safe travels to everyone who evacuated!
