When a crying 8-month-old baby sparked national controversy by spoiling a recent Saturday night dinner for patrons of Chicago’s famed Alinea restaurant, parents of young children were in a quandary.
Many wondered aloud whether they could ever bring their offspring to a fine-dining establishment — or even to a moderately decent eatery.
Here to the rescue comes the new issue of Just Kidding magazine with a cover story on “No-drama dining: 42 ways to enjoy a family meal out,” serving up everything from “toddler-friendly restaurants” to ethic hot spots and upscale joints that set aside certain days for younger diners (and their parents).
The latest edition of the quarterly publication was delivered Sunday to Chicago Tribune subscribers in targeted zip codes. Later this week it will be distributed free in racks at Jewel-Osco supermarkets throughout the Chicago area.
The timely restaurant feature is the kind of pertinent and authoritative advice that Amy Carr hopes will be the hallmark of the Tribune’s new hub for parenting content, including Just Kidding magazine, a branded page each week in the Sunday section, a dynamic website and an upcoming series of special events.
As development editor for the Tribune, Carr is involved in numerous products targeting specific reader interests, such as Blue Sky Innovation, Theater Loop and Printers Row Journal. But none of those ventures is closer to her heart than Just Kidding, which owes its origin to the late, great Time Out Chicago Kids.
Amy Carr
In her former role as executive editor of Time Out Chicago, Carr was a guiding force behind Time Out Chicago Kids, which debuted as a biannual magazine in 2009. By the time it ceased publication in March 2013 — just before Time Out Chicago was sold back to Time Out North America — the local parenting guide had grown into a profitable, bimonthly gem. (Disclosure: I worked for Time Out Chicago from 2011 to 2013, and this blog is licensed by Chicago Tribune Media Group.)
“Tribune had dabbled in reaching the parenting audience for years, but just hadn’t found the right mix,” Carr said. “So when Time Out Chicago Kids went away, they saw that as an opportunity to do something here. In creating my position as development editor, they clearly saw this as one of the initiatives I’d undertake as part of Tribune’s whole audience segmentation strategy.” To help her launch the new platform she recruited several veterans of Time Out Chicago Kids, including editor Judy Sutton Taylor and editorial assistant Amanda Sims as well as a number of free-lancers.
In the coming months, Carr hopes to ramp up staffing and make additional use of the large stable of ChicagoNow parenting bloggers. She’s also partnered with Elisa Ali whose 30Second Mom video tips are linked from the Just Kidding website.
Sunday’s edition marked the second issue of Just Kidding (the first came out in November), but Carr still considers the project in “soft launch” mode as she and her colleagues refine their approach to reaching parents. She sees her overall market as those with children from infants to teens — more specifically parents of pre-school and elementary-school-age kids.
“Parents are really always struggling for things to do with their families, and looking for good strong local content about how to enjoy their city, how to do it on a budget, and how to make the most of it,” Carr said. “The Tribune is in a really good position to provide that kind of content. With the expertise we bring over, I think we can add some credibility on the parenting space.”