Rollerama Skating Center opened on October 6, 1972. Last Thursday, owners, employees and community members celebrated his 50th anniversary.
Owner Jennifer Decatur said, “It’s crazy. A lot of businesses can’t stand it, let alone shut down because of COVID.” Without our customers, we wouldn’t be here.”
Prices have been reduced from $12 admission and $5 skate rentals, the same as when it opened in 1972, to $1.25 admission and 50 cents skate rentals.
Over 50 years, this business has gone through many owners. About ten years ago, after the business went bankrupt, Jennifer Decatur, her husband Dave, and Mike Hamade bought the Skating Center and other locations.
The place has remained open except for eight months when it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There are generations of family here,” said Jennifer Decatur.
In addition, it has undergone countless improvements and updates over the last ten years, with many more features to come.
“We remodeled the entire facility. It’s always a work in progress, but we started pretty much the same way we started, so it’s like 2013,” says Jennifer Decator. “It’s her 80 x 160 and still has the original hardwood maple floor that was just painted.”
As for why she’s kept them open all these years, she attributes it to her hobby of roller skating and additional attractions.
“A modern roller skating rink needs multiple attractions,” said Jennifer Decatur.
Additional attractions such as play zones and bumper cars were added in 2014.
For many, the Rollerama Skating Center is like a second home. Kaylee Brogan has been a roller skater for the past 6-7 years. I was.
“I started skating here when I was six years old. I’ve been skating here for 18 years,” Brogan said.
Another person who owes the center much is Joshua Bryan, an employee at the Rollerama Skating Center. He has worked at the facility for the past six years, but he started working at the floor center at age 10 when he was playing hockey.
“This place means a lot to me.
The Fishers, who moved to the United States in 2012, have their second home in mind. His father Peter his Fischer is Swiss and his mother Anjayakob his Fischer is German.
According to Peter Fisher, roller skating is popular in Europe, and the couple wanted to teach their children Caden and Caitlin Fisher about roller skating, but there were no indoor skating rinks in Europe.
When they came to America, they started attending Rollerama Skating Center. In inline figure skating, brothers and sisters compete individually or in pairs.
“We have survived 50 years and hope to survive another 50 years,” Hamade said. “For everything we’ve been through with the (economic) collapse of 2008 and the recent pandemic, it’s amazing that we’re still surviving.
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