When Louisiana native Abby Love opened Abby Jane Bakeshop in Dripping Springs, she wanted the place to be a beloved neighborhood bakery. Three years later, she thinks she’s accomplished that.
Love said Abby Jane Bakeshop’s mission is to serve as the gateway to sustainable and healthy eating. Since the bakery is inside of a mill, all of the menu items are baked fresh daily using local, stone-ground flour.
“We're not going to get people buying these flours or buying products from these stone-milled flours if it tastes like health food or if it tastes like you're being responsible,” Love said. “It should taste like you should want this cinnamon roll or this croissant over the highly processed one if this is going to work.”
- 16604 Fitzhugh Road, Unit C, Dripping Springs
- www.abbyjanebakes.com
As a single mom, Leah Reed was looking for a place where she could get work done while her son could safely play.
“I thought that if I can't find something like that, then I might as well build it,” Reed said.
She said Pikopye’s Town is just as much for parents as it is for kids and features nine custom playhouses, a lounge and open seating.
- 2919 Menchaca Road, Ste. 205, Austin
- www.pikopyestown.com
Since its founding in 2005, the owners and staff at Dripping Springs Distilling have strived to create a quality product and experience for the community that continues to show them love.
Dripping Springs Distilling was founded by brothers Gary and Kevin Kelleher. The distillery offers various products, from mixers and liqueurs to gin and vodka.
“In terms of wanting to open a distillery, it's literally something I always wanted to do,” Gary Kelleher said. “It sounds really crazy. I was always in the bar restaurant business, but I always had a desire to do this. It's something I kind of had in the back of my mind ever since I was quite young.”
- 5330 Bell Springs Road, Dripping Springs
- www.drippingspringsdistilling.com
Since 1999, Blazer Tag Adventure Center has been a hub of entertainment for Austin families. Now, 25 years later, the business’s newest owners, Sneha Govind and Joe Michael Ramirez, strive to maintain and put a modern twist on the classic arcade atmosphere Austin locals know and love.
“[Blazer Tag] is for all ages,” Govind said. “Teenagers, adults, anybody who wants to spend some time together—they can come here and have fun. Especially families like mine trying to get the children out of their rooms, [saying], ‘Come, let's go spend some time together,’ this is wonderful for them.”
- 1701 W. Ben White Blvd., Austin
- www.blazertag.com
When Shelley Weiser opened The Hive in 2017, her goal was to create a family-friendly community hub in South Austin. From a coworking space to a coffee shop and each version of the business in between, Weiser has always aimed to offer a comfortable atmosphere for anyone and everyone.
“There are places in South Austin that are family-friendly, but we've decided to really go all in and be family-focused,” Weiser said.
- 10542 Menchaca Road, Austin
- www.hiveaustin.com
Raw Paw, an artist-run print studio located in the St. Elmo Arts District, opened in 2015.
The goal of the business’ co-owners, Chris Dock, Kyle Carter and Jen Rachid, is to help other artists.
“One of our main theses here is, ‘How do you make a living as an artist and balance what you need to do to exist in the market and society in general, [with] what you need to do to maintain the essence of being an artist,” Dock said.
- 506 E. St. Elmo Road, Ste. A3, Austin
- www.rawpaw.ink
As someone who grew up playing board games and collecting comics, Brendan Greenwood jumped on the opportunity to open his own store, Bat City Games & Comics, last year.
“People who play Warhammer are a lot different than people who play [Magic: The Gathering],” Greenwood said. “[They] are a lot different than people that collect comics. There is a Venn diagram where we have a crossover of a lot of that geek, nerd space, and that's what we try to fill."
- 5001 Hwy. 290, Austin
- www.batcitygc.com
When DeDe Lally cut her graduate school journey short to pursue a new dream of opening a dog day care, she envisioned a place that would be welcoming for both dogs and their families.
“There's a joke that people that work with dogs, we work with dogs because we don't really like to work with people,” Lally said. “That's where I was like, ‘Well, I think I could offer this doggy day care experience, but it would be bright and warm and welcoming, and we would focus a lot on the customer experience.'”
- 8701 S. First St., Bldg. 3, Austin; 8036 W. Hwy. 290, Austin
- www.pupsandpalspetlounge.com
