Set Review ➟ LEGO® Creator 31097 Townhouse Pet Shop and Cafe Build 3
In this review we look at the third build of the 3-in-1 LEGO Creator Townhouse Pet Shop and Cafe. This build consists of four modules which stack to create a single building and a lemonade cart. The designs of this set of buildings however does not allow for module stacking. LEGO refers to this assembly as “multi-story Bank”. This is somewhat of a misnomer as the bottom two modules comprise a two-story-tall, one-room bank and above that is what appears to be an apartment lounge, and above that a greenhouse/roof garden level. This is the smallest and simplest build of the three models.
Bank
The bottom two modules of this build combine to create the bank. The lower module has a waiting area and a teller area. The upper module is open to the bottom module, creating a high ceiling featuring a suspended chandelier of sorts. The bank’s facade is all glass and the doorway has columns and other sculpted ornamentation.
As with the building modules in the first two builds, the interior space is cramped and play positioning minifigures in the space is impossible without disassembling the structure as the glassed-in teller area prevents access to the lobby area.
Lounge
Above the bank sits the apartment lounge. It has a replica captain’s chair from Star Trek, some sort of floor-standing lamp, a flower bed, a television, a bowl with bones, a brick-built dog…positioned where one would expect, with its ass between the TV and the viewer…and there's a croissant on a little table. At least I hope it’s a croissant there. It is brown and located near the dog’s butt. You decide.
Floor space is again tight. Your minifig can sit in the captain’s chair. Or the figure can stand in the room if you kick the dog out.
Greenhouse and Roof Garden
The top floor is a combination greenhouse and roof garden. The details are once again splendid with opening roof, brick built birds, plants, and decorative cornice. The usable space for a minifig is again limited. The figure can be placed in the greenhouse or on the roof, but the door to the greenhouse can’t completely open because it is blocked by the tree and the tree is lower than the minifigure’s head.
Lemonade Cart
The lemonade cart completes the third model. Once again, the model is clever in detail. The cart has its push handle at neck height, the cash register is at head level, the mug is atop the cash register above eye level, and the juice dispensers are at waist height…so for any minifigure, the cart is just a tad ergonomically challenging.
And in conclusion…
Creator set 31097 is a delightful set. The builds are easy and the potential for creating your own modules out of the provided parts is extensive. Lots of ideas abound in this set, both clever and whimsical. If you like building and tearing apart and building and doing it all over again, this set offers more opportunities than most other sets of similar size and price.
LEGO’s marketing blurb states that the set “includes 3 minifigures, all ready for downtown adventures.” Unfortunately those adventure options are fairly restricted by tight spaces and absence of additional figures.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set. All my thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are emboldened by the fact that I didn’t lose any pieces to this set through three separate builds. And there are so, so many little pieces.
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