Ann Arbor woman’s dream business, a center for kids’ imaginations, faces uncertain future in wake of pandemic

(FOX 2) - Welcome to Kidopolis. Here you can take on burning houses as a firefighter, or pick a time and start traveling. You can set sail on the seven seas to look for buried treasure, or head deep into the jungle.

It’s all a result of Jessica Ramos’s dream.

“I feel very energized, I feel very passionate ... I don’t need coffee anymore, I feel really excited,” she said.

In 2016, Jessica took a blank space and turned it into Kidopolis, a play center in Ann Arbor for kids to let their imagination run wild.

“They walk into one room and they just get so many ideas in each room and it’s just like a mental to-do list with them,” she said.

It’s a unique business. Customers can rent out the space for birthday parties or just playtime. It’s a break from the screens -- a chance to role-play and explore different careers.

“It also helps kids express their feelings - so it’s a little bit therapeutic too,” Jessica said.

For many of the rooms, she got ideas from her own kids, like her daughter Amara.

“Friends come - I like to play with them. I usually dance with them and do plays,” she said.

Her other daughter Isabella -- who works the front desk and played a role in getting the business ready -- says she was inspired by her mom starting a business like this.

“This was a huge risk for my mom - to put so much money and time into something like this ... I was just really inspired that she did it and she was a resourceful as she was,” she said.

Just as the business was fully taking off, the pandemic hit. Now -- like many other small businesses across the country --  things are difficult.

“It’s closed us down - we didn’t even get a chance to reopen,” Jessica said.

Also like many businesses she’s hoping for some community support -- but Jessica says at the end of the day- no matter what happens - the business has brought her family much closer together. 

“(It’s) given us another common goal - it’s made us a team in another way,” she said.

Jessica set up a GoFundMe for Kidopolois to help pay for rent and other lost expenses due to cancelations, click here if you’d like to help out.