The 2021 closure of St. Louis Park's beloved Roller Garden left only two roller rinks in the metro: Skateville in Burnsville and Cheap Skate in Coon Rapids.
But as roller-skating experiences a national resurgence, Twin Cities residents will soon have easier access to a new "boutique" rink, as Twin Cities Skaters takes over the former home of the CB2 store in the Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis.
Twin Cities Skaters is a mobile, roller-rink pop up that sprang up during the pandemic. Before that, longtime roller skater James Adams had amassed a collection of skates that he loaned to kids and their families at the Minneapolis school where he worked. In the summer of 2020, Adams partnered with a DJ friend to host a roller skating event at Taft Park in Richfield, which ended up continuing every week into the fall.
Soon other community-minded organizations with flat, open, skateable spaces were calling them, including the YMCA and St. Paul and Minneapolis downtown business associations. Adams has since hosted skate events at all sorts of locations, including a brewery and Art-A-Whirl. A recent skate night at City Center in downtown Minneapolis drew more than 500 people.
Last December, Adams hosted a roller-skating event at Uptown's Seven Points' Winter Wonderland pop-up market. That led to his taking over the adjacent site formerly occupied by CB2, a home furnishings retailer. The store closed in 2022.
Twin Cities Skaters offers lessons, performances and skate maintenance in addition to public and private events. The new, concrete-floored space, called Twin Cities Skaters Studio, will allow Adams to host open skating, as well as roller fitness classes, birthday parties and skatearoki (karaoke on four wheels).
He hopes to have the space open in a few weeks and will share information about upcoming events on Twin Cities Skaters website (twincitiesskaters.com) and social media channels. In the meantime, Adams is hosting free skating on Fridays at Rice Park in downtown St. Paul, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
To get the next generation an early start on four-wheeled gliding, the studio in Uptown will open for a free toddler skating event on May 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"One of our slogans is to make America skate again," he said.
