10 Twin Cities summer date ideas that are more than just a meal startribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from startribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Copy shortlink:
They sashayed and spun, glided and grooved. Then, as the house lights came on, they cried.
For five decades, kids, teens and adults went to the Roller Garden in St. Louis Park to skate and to celebrate. Last week, they went to say goodbye. It s heartbreaking, said Irissa Semler, 22, tightening laces the same shade of blue as her hair. The atmosphere here is so nice and supportive in a way I really needed and loved. After being gone almost 41 years, today I felt like I was back home, one woman wrote. A welcoming place to come of age, said another. Skating has been there for me.
Class field trips.
“I can smell the roller rink,” Kasie Gonczy said, reflecting on her childhood outside Roller Garden just a block from Highway 100 in St. Louis Park. “And that just goes with the memories.”
Credit: Jodi Johnston
But in two weeks, this timeless roller rink will transition into a gymnastics facility, marking the end of an era under the same family ownership since 1969. Co-owner Bill Sahly said the pandemic took a toll during the past year, pushing the family into retirement.
The last skate will be May 8 – with COVID-19 capacity restrictions.
“It really is bittersweet,” Sahly said. “It’s tough to say goodbye.”