Then, one day she and her husband took their children to an inflatable bounce house place, and she fell in love with the concept.
Sylliaa, who always considered opening a business, began making plans and looking for a spot. Although opening the business was hard, she said it felt right.
“Everything just kind of kept moving forward. Nothing ever stopped the process,” Sylliaa said.
She opened Loco-Motion Inflatable Play in 2009 at William Cannon Drive and West Gate Boulevard in South Austin. Six years later, she moved to a 14,000-square-foot facility at 9811 Vikki Terrace.
Loco-Motion is a play place with inflatable bounce houses, slides and playscapes. There are smaller play areas for younger children and a miniature town and ball pit. Children up to age 10 are welcome.
Sylliaa designed the town by drawing on her background in theater, and she chose a colorful assortment of bounce houses and other toys. Even the party tables are brightly colored and positioned so parents can easily keep an eye on the children as they play.
Sylliaa’s husband, who is a civil engineer, was involved in designing the new location.
Families can bring their children to play just for the day or rent out space for a birthday party. Parents can also bring in their own food, and the birthday child gets to stuff their own toy animal.
“As a kid, your birthday is a really special experience,” Sylliaa said. “That’s their day. It’s something they remember.”
Sylliaa said she has seen some children return each year for birthday parties as they grow up.
When she started her business, there were several similar businesses, but since then many of them have shut down.
“The key to our success was determination, because there were some times in our first location where we had challenges and we just had to keep going,” Sylliaa said.
Loco-Motion Inflatable Play
9811 Vikki Terrace, Austin
512-551-8344
www.locomotionplay.com
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
