15-05-2025
Rollerama closing down for the summer
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — After another successful nine months of roller skating, Rollerama is closing for the summer.
'It's kind of an honor, to be honest with you. There's not too many places that survived that long It's been a long history, family owned and operated. They built it back in 1966. It's been running ever since,' said Karen Thompson, the manager of the Rollerama
Rollerama has been open for quite some time, but how have they been able to stay open for so long? The manager of Rollerama said it's because of the atmosphere.
'I think it's just, it's a fun place for kids to go, and we hold people to a standard around here. There's rules that you abide by, and if you don't abide by those rules, then we let you know it's time to leave,' Thompson expressed. 'I've had generations of people come back and appreciate that fact. I've had even regular skaters that I see every week down here.'
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With almost six decades to prove the Rollerama's success, why does the popular establishment close during this time of the year?
'Quite honestly, [in] this business, the colder it is outside, the better we do,' Thompson explained. 'Once it gets to about mid-April, if we slow down significantly. There's too many other free things to do in town as far as, you know, baseball, soccer, going to the swimming pool, traveling with your family during the summertime.'
During the pandemic, Thompson said it was a hard time for their staff and put a dent in their business, until ultimately deciding to close.
'Because of the different regulations they had going on one week, we had to follow one set of rules. The next week they changed their mind, and we'd have follow another set of rules. It just didn't make sense for us to be open,' she recalled.
Those days are in the past, though, she said: 'The word is getting out again that, 'Hey, it's fun at Rollerama.' Some of the schools are coming back and doing private parties. School parties, which that's always a benefit to us. It kind of feeds the next generation of skaters and get them into the building. They have fun. They want to come back again.'
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Thompson expressed why Rollerama is so special to her.
'It's really rewarding to hear those people that were part of that come back in here and talk about their fond memories of Rollerama, and tell us that they're bringing their grandkids here now and all that.'
Rollerama will be closing for their season on May 17, but they'll be back open after Labor Day for their 60th season.
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