Meet Chantal Cashi of Palava Family Entertainment Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chantal Cashi.

Chantal, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Palava is owned and operated by myself and my husband Larry. We are local residents of Spring Tx and have 4 children aged between 4 and 10. Both myself and my husband had long careers in the oil industry and were looking for a new opportunity in life away from the industry that was in a downturn.

We were looking into opening up either a restaurant or a toy shop when we were given the opportunity of a great 10,000 sq/ft premises in Spring right within the area we lived and our kids attended school. We immediately recognized the need for a fun Family Entertainment Center where we could also incorporate our restaurant and toy shop along with lots of other attractions suited to all ages.

Palava features a two-story Mayan themed laser tag, 3D blacklight mini golf, a four-level play structure, a toddler play area, 3 party rooms, an arcade, a toy shop, and a café serving freshly made to order pizzas, soups, salads, sandwiches etc.

Our food is also available for delivery & pick-up

Has it been a smooth road?
no! Construction was a nightmare, permits went back and forth for months – Did we need a fire sprinkler system / did we not need a fire sprinkler system – lol! Finally we had to install one after the fact of completing the build out. Learning curve for sure!

Other than that the main challenges we have had to overcome is the perception that food at a Family Entertainment doesn’t always mean its fried/microwaved standard fare… We offer a great menu and we would really like to see more people come along and try our food and enjoy a meal with us while the kids are entertained playing on our play-structure, laser tag, mini golf etc. We feel we still have a long way to grow to our full potential, and we are working hard every month to introduce our ideas into our business.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Palava Family Entertainment Center – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Palava is very well established now for Birthday Parties and most weekend days we host approximately 12 to 14 parties which for a smallfamily owned venue like ours is great. Our parties are very successful and the fact that all the food is prepared in-house is a benefit whereas a lot of the birthday party venues in close proximity to us don’t provide many food options; sometimes just ‘take out’ pizza deliveries for their parties.

We also cater across the spectrum of all ages/customers. During school term, we host a lot of daytime events aimed at the pre-school ages. During the evenings and weekends, we host events that are all family orientated and cover all ages.

Without a doubt what sets us apart is our café. Also because we are owner operated I feel that our customers feel they get a more personalized service whether they be party customers or open play customers.  We also have a very low turnover of our local staff which makes our regular customers feel more at home as they are greeted by familiar faces on arrival.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Houston. I moved here from Scotland in 2002 with my job in the oilfield. I lived in Houston until 2005 when I was relocated to Lafayette Louisiana where I stayed until 2011 before being relocated back to Houston and that’s when I chose Spring to be my hometown, a decision that has been great for my family.

Contact Info:

• Address: 3240 Spring Cypress Road, Spring, TX 77388
• Website: www.palavallc.com
• Phone: 8327648250
• Email: info@palavallc.com
• Facebook: @palavallc

Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.