by JEN BIUNDO
Brooke Wilson, 2, takes a trip down a giant inflatable slide at the Jumpy Place, an indoor play center in Kyle. The space has six spacewalks full of chutes, slides and obstacle courses. (Photos by Jen Biundo)
There are a few rules you should know at the Jumpy Place, an indoor playground full of inflatable spacewalks in Kyle. Wear your socks. No running. Have fun, but be safe. And most importantly, no cartoons on the big screen TV. That’s strictly for the grownups.
With free wi-fi, a lounge area and the cartoon-free TV, the Jumpy Place is meant to give parents and kids alike a chance to relax and have fun in a safe environment, said owner Cathy Severance. A clear line of sight around the building means parents can chat with friends, read a book or watch a basketball game while still keeping a close eye on their children.
Severance knows what moms are looking for in an indoor play center – after all, she’s a mom herself.
“Before I owned this place, I was just a mom who went to them all the time,” Severance said. “It doesn’t feel like a job. I feel like I have a playgroup every day.”
As their kids sit down to a snack, moms (left to right) Crystal Wilson, Cameron Wilson and Monica Conway have a chat.
The Severances and their two kids, age six and three, live in Buda’s Cullen Country subdivision. Up until a couple of months ago Cathy Severance, 36, was a stay-at-home mom, while her husband Byron, 39, worked a demanding job as Jardine’s Foods marketing VP, traveling 20 days a month.
But things changed when they bought the Jumpy Place two months ago from the previous owners, Jeremy and Candice Sims and Jeff and Joy Sultemeier. Running a kid-oriented family business has given the couple a chance to de-stress and reconnect, they say.
“It’s like throwing a party every day,” Byron Severance said. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a job.”
Cathy Severance first fell in love with the Jumpy Place as a customer. When the family moved to Buda about three years ago, she looked for a meet-up, and soon joined the MOMS Club of Buda, short for “Moms Offer Moms Support.”
Jumpy Place owners Cathy and Byron Severance bought the new business in February and say it’s given them a chance to de-stress and reconnect with their family.
“Moms really need to have that time together,” Severance said.
The group met up for playdates about three times each week, hitting local parks, playgrounds – and on cold or rainy days, the Jumpy Place.
The single large room is dominated by six inflatable spacewalks, most of them with chutes, slides and obstacle courses. A gated play area has toys for infants and young toddlers, while bigger kids can hang out in another play space with a toy kitchen, slides, rocking horses and balls.
The Severances had been long interested in buying a small business, and when the Jumpy Place came up for sale they took the opportunity.
“We put a hard look at Buda Grocery, and the Buda car wash, but could never find anything that was a good fit, until Cathy came home with a flyer one day,” Severance said. “We decided to jump in and do it.”
Within 24 hours the couple had talked it over and made their decision. After closing on the business on Feb. 12, they started on a new marketing campaign, creating a new logo, redesigning the website, reaching out to the community on Facebook and creating specials deals. They partnered with Fox’s Pizza to get free delivery to the Jumpy Place, and put coupons on Fox’s Pizza boxes.
The couple joined the Buda and Kyle Chambers of Commerce, and say they’re excited about getting involved in the community. They recently created a fundraiser night package that will donate back 25 percent of profits to local non-profits and youth groups.
Their efforts seem to be paying off, with sales increasing every month. But like many small businesses, their biggest source of advertising is word of mouth – and their regular customers offer plenty of good reviews.
Olivia Conway, 2, was jumping on a spacewalk on a quiet Thursday morning, while her mom, Monica Conway, kept a close eye on her and chatted with friends. They live in the nearby Post Oak subdivision and have been coming to the Jumpy Place regularly for the last year.
“It’s a great environment for Olivia to interact with other kids, it’s safe and it’s fun,” Conway said.
San Marcos resident Sandi Gray said her granddaughter, two-year-old Camden, asks to go to the Jumpy Place frequently when she visits her grandmother.
“It’s very clean, and it gives her a chance to play with other kids,” Gray said. “The owners are awesome. It’s a great family-oriented place.”
The Severances own kids give a thumbs-up review of the new businesses. After two months, they’re still not close to bored with the Jumpy Place, their parents say, and like having their own personal playground. Though their parents have arranged the schedule so that one of them can always be home with the kids, the children often choose to come with their parents to work.
“The kids don’t have to be up here, but right now they love it,” Cathy Severance said.
Right now Cathy works Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while her husband takes the shifts of Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, with the business closed on Tuesday. One employee comes in to help out on the weekend.
In the last two months, both Cathy and Byron say the new job has helped them to shed 10 pounds each, mostly from the work cleaning the 7,500 square foot building and wiping the inflatables down with antibacterial formula every night.
“If you’re not dedicated to keeping it clean and safe, there’s no point getting into it,” Byron Severance said. “And you’ve got to love kids.”
After two months in the new business, the couple is already thinking about their next big step.
“Are we going to franchise it out?” Byron Severance said. “There is so much demand for this kind of place.”
