Business
BY SARAH HERNANDEZ
Leah Reed opened Pikopye’s Town in November 2020.
SARAH HERNANDEZ COMMUNITY IMPACT
At the Lakeway location, play spaces follow a Lake Town theme.
Each house in Pikopye's Town in the South Austin location is named after those special to Reed.
SARAH HERNANDEZ COMMUNITY IMPACT
COURTESY PIKOPYE’S TOWN
Pikopye’s Town o ers imaginative playspaces
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 nd something like that, then I might as well build it,” Reed said. The backstory Pikopye’s Town opened its South Austin location in November 2020 after seven months of delayed construction due to the pandemic. Reed said she used the time to gure out who she wanted her business idea to serve. A second location in Lakeway, Pikopye’s Town by the Lake, was opened in December 2022. Pikopye’s Town is just as much for parents as it is for kids, Reed said, as it features several custom playhouses and an area for parents to relax while they watch their children. What’s in a name Reed named Pikopye’s Town after her now 8-year-old son’s childhood imaginary friend, Piko- pye, whose statue stands at the front of the lobby. At the South Austin location, each playhouse was custom-made and shipped by Lilliput Play Homes in Pennsylvania. The tiny town also
features places named after Austin businesses, such as the Carby Lane Diner and Half Foods Market. The Lakeway location features several custom playhouses resembling small lake town busi- nesses, a tree house with a tunnel slide, and a toddler and baby area with toys and books. “Imaginative play is one of the things that really prepares the kids,” Reed said. “No one wants to really go and buy [playhouses] and put them in the backyard unless you have so much money to really waste because how many years is it going to be played with?” What else? In addition to everyday play, Pikopye’s Town can be reserved for birthday parties; hosts special events for holidays, such as Mother’s Day; and hosts summer camps. Reed said she hopes the love she and her team share for each other translates to the work that goes into running Pikopye’s Town. “It’s not just the community outside of this business; it’s a community inside of this business,” Reed said. “That is what makes us unique—not the business but my people.”
The custom playhouses at Pikopye’s Town by the Lake are made to look like small lake town businesses.
COURTESY PIKOPYE’S TOWN
BARTON SKYWAY
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620
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OAK GROVE BLVD.
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A 1607 N. RM 620, Ste. 100, Lakeway www.pikopyestown.com/lakeway B 2919 Menchaca Road, Ste. 205, Austin www.pikopyestown.com/scentralaustin
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LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION
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