When Skate Along USA opened on a nondescript patch of Beaver Ruin Road in Lilburn in 1978, 16-year-old Tim Thomas quickly made it his go-to place to hang out with friends and show off his skating tricks.
“Before then, there was nothing to do on weekends around here,” Thomas said. “The rink became a magnet.”
Multiple generations of kids blew out birthday candles, scarfed down pizza, played pinball and experienced their first kisses in the nooks and crannies of the 22,000-square-foot space.
But that’s about to end. Landlord Jason Chan sold the property to a buyer who has no plans to keep a skating rink in the building. The result: Skate Along USA is closing for good Aug. 24.
Credit: RODNEY HO?
Credit: RODNEY HO?
After hearing the news, Thomas, a lanky 63-year-old Lawrenceville patio installer, came by during open skate Aug. 10 to bid farewell to a place that created a flood of warm memories.
Along with a group of friends including his girlfriend, Thomas laughed and skated on the light blue-tinted rink with the carefree joy of a teenager. One of his high school friends, Mark Williams, said that he met two future wives at Skate Along USA. (He divorced both.) “We were all rink rats,” Williams said.
Thomas pointed at a portion of the original brick wall bordering most of the rink and recalled regularly leaping over it and doing a forward somersault. And he somehow didn’t end up in the hospital.
“The staff used to give me a hard time, telling me, ‘You can’t be doing that!’” Thomas said, grinning.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Looking around, he noted how Skate Along looks amazingly similar to the way it did when he was a teen: the tiny cinder block bathrooms, the skate rental window, the neon-lit Snack Shack, the DJ booth with signage noting that “we do not play unedited songs. We do our best to play clean music.”
“This must have been a cash cow for decades because they haven’t spent any money on it,” Thomas said, laughing.
To be fair, the space still looked clean and well maintained. Chan, the outgoing owner who purchased the property 20 years ago for $2.1 million along with neighboring athletic facility Recreation ATL, said losing the rink “hurts badly.”
Chan sold the property in March to 1618 Land Holdings for $4.7 million, according to public records.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
The rink’s closure is not necessarily a sign that roller skating is waning in popularity. There are still more than a dozen other rinks in metro Atlanta including multiple locations of Sparkles Family Fun Center, Cascade Family Skating in west Atlanta and Golden Glide Skating in Decatur.
Roller Skating Association president Jim McMahon, whose organization represents 700 rinks nationwide, is paid to be optimistic about the future of roller skating. He noted a resurgence in interest during the pandemic of outdoor roller skating and the thrill he received watching Usher perform in front of 100 million-plus people on roller skates during the 2024 Super Bowl.
But he isn’t blind to a major issue: accessibility of indoor roller rinks. Zoning restrictions, financing challenges and building costs have made it difficult for entrepreneurs to build new skating rinks from scratch, McMahon acknowledged.
“I get four or five calls a week from people wanting to open a rink,” McMahon said. “But maybe one or two new rinks actually open any given year” nationwide.
As a result, the number of actual roller rinks in the United States continues to shrink. The RSA estimates there are now about 1,125 rinks in the United States, down 10% from 1,250 before the pandemic and more than 2,000 in the 1980s.
The closure of Skate Along USA reduces the number of roller skating rinks in Gwinnett County from three to two: Sparkles in Lawrenceville and Buford’s Skate Country.
Credit: COURTESY
Credit: COURTESY
Jeff Couey, whose family has been in the roller skating rink business since 1959, said rinks eat up a lot of square footage compared to other entertainment attractions. He diversified his Sparkles Family Fun Centers in Hiram and Kennesaw by adding laser tag and indoor playgrounds. He brings students from nearby schools for STEM lessons.
“We’re always reinventing ourselves,” said Couey, whose two sons opened the newest indoor roller skating rink in metro Atlanta in 2016: Starlite Family Fun Center in McDonough. “We know what we’re doing. We keep our facilities up.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/a
Credit: RODNEY HO/a
Robert B. Houston opened Skate Along USA in 1978 during the heyday of roller skating as a disco-infused pop culture phenomenon.
Though disco eventually waned, rinks remained a childhood rite of passage in subsequent decades. Tracy Thompson and Kelly Little, who came back to Skate Along USA for one final skate earlier this month, remembered dancing to Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” and doing the Hokey Pokey as middle schoolers.
They fondly recalled the rink holding summer “lock-in” parties where parents would drop their kids off at 7 p.m. and pick them up 12 hours later. “Nobody slept,” Thompson said.
The childhood friends rented skates and were thrilled not to fall. “The wind in your hair,” Thompson said. “Nothing beats that feeling.”
Credit: COURTESY
Credit: COURTESY
For the past three decades Christine Salome was a regular presence at Skate Along USA, first as a customer, then as an employee, then as a general manager, then as an owner. The original Houston family members, she recalled, “were very community-oriented. Day cares would bring kids to skate during the day. Schools would hold fundraisers.”
She and her husband Chris leased the space from Chan for several years and did their best to keep that family vibe going.
“I’ve always loved the atmosphere and the people here,” said Salome, who went by either “Miss Chris” or “Momma Chris” by the regulars. “I just wanted to make the customers happy and make them want to come back.”
The pandemic did hurt business, Salome said. She picked up extra cash by renting out the rink for music videos and film. Zach Galifianakis shot a scene at the rink for 2023’s Apple TV+ film “The Beanie Bubble,” but didn’t skate.
Puerto Rican pop star Rauw Alejandro skated quite gracefully at Skate Along for his 2021 music video for “Todo de Ti,” which featured a cameo from part-time Atlanta resident Shaquille O’Neal. The song became a Latin Grammy-nominated hit and has been viewed more than 823 million times on YouTube.
Salome only relinquished ownership late last year when Chan said he was about to sell his fitness center and the rink.
“We would have to purchase both buildings but that was out of the picture,” Salome said. “We only wanted the rink.”
Justin Nevels, who goes by DJ Anarchy, presided over the music on the second to last Wednesday evening, “Adult night,” heavy on R&B and hip hop.
“I’ve been working here for nine months,” he said. “It’s a nice vibe. I love the floor, the lights and mirrors. It’s the only rink in town with mirrors. And it’s a melting pot of skaters. All different types.”
Nevels said business has been OK but picked up even more when people heard Skate Along was closing. “That’s the way it goes,” he said. “And I’ll have to find another gig.”
IF YOU GO
Skate Along USA, Through Aug. 24. 8-11 p.m. Wednesday, 7-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, 3-7 p.m., Sunday. 744 Beaver Ruin Road, Lilburn, 770-921-0800. skatealongusa.com
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