Answer Man: New 'West Asheville Roller Rink' replacing Haywood Road Family Dollar?

ASHEVILLE - Today, a sticker posted on the front of a recently closed Family Dollar location has readers asking: Is a roller rink coming to West Asheville?

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Question: I saw on Facebook that someone shared that there is a new roller rink coming to the Family Dollar location on Haywood Road. Is that true?

Answer: Reader, I was also fooled by the deceptive "West AVL Roller Rink" stickers plastered to the front of the former Family Dollar building at 609 Haywood Road, but only for a moment.

I checked the permits on the building. I reached out to my real estate contacts. I walked by the building wearing shades and a long coat, and I peered through the window.

All of it led me to the same conclusion: the sticker was a prank, or, at least, misleading. There is no "West Asheville Roller Rink" headed to the Family Dollar.

Ryan Israel, vice president of Ellington Realty, the company that owns the building, acknowledged this much.

Israel described the sticker as "kind-of a ruse," but mentioned the 9,500 square foot location might "be great for a roller rink." Israel, who was on vacation when it happened, is unsure who the roller rink sticker culprit could be.

One business owner proposes an answer to roller rink drought

As I walk past the Asheville Skatepark off Cherry Street, I'm often reminded that our town is full of urban locations for good skate opportunities, but, if you don't know how to skate or are afraid of skating the bowls, Asheville is essentially a roller rink desert. The closest full-scale roller rink, Smoky Mountain Sk8way, is a 30-minute drive to Waynesville.

Though a skating rink doesn't appear to be coming to Haywood Road, the idea generated a lot of excitement on social media, stirring discussion of what it would take to bring a roller rink business to Asheville.

Jazz Thomas, the owner of Skate828, purchased about 600 roller skates along with concession tables and popcorn machines last year from a couple who ran a roller rink in Gaffney, South Carolina.

After being offered a good deal on the roller rink supplies, Thomas said she knew opening a roller rink in Asheville was a good idea.

"I just want to have a nice space for people to come and skate, hold events and do pop-ups," Thomas said, emphasizing a desire for a space that is "dedicated to the community." One of her posts on Facebook received several hundred comments in support of the business.

Thomas is currently searching for a brick-and-mortar location in Asheville. The goal would be to bring a full-size roller rink to the area that is large enough to host roller-derby and have another space to hold events like birthday parties.

Thomas said the business likely needs to raise more funds or have an "angel investor" to open soon.

"People have been incredibly supportive," Thomas said, noting that DJs, artists, photographers and real estate agents have reached out offering their services.

After the Facebook post, Thomas said Haywood Park Hotel reached out to develop a few roller-skating nights, which she believes could help provide funding for a business that is looking to rent in one of the most expensive real estate markets in North Carolina.

Marketing Chair of Blue Ridge Roller Derby, Frodo Brawlins — her derby nickname — said the team often travels 30 minutes outside of Asheville to Smoky Mountain Event Center to practice. Brawlins said the team "would love" to play games or practice in a location more-central to Asheville.

In other mid-sized cities in North Carolina, roller skating has also become the priority of city departments. The city of Durham Parks and Recreation department recently purchased Wheels Roller Skating Rink — or as I knew it "Wheels Fun Park" — with plans to refurbish and reopen the building by the end of 2024.

The city of Asheville Parks and Recreation has previously held Skate Nights in Carrier Park, with more upcoming this summer, but Thomas believes that the community needs more.

"As a tourist city and as a city that houses a lot of families, I think it'd be really great to have something for all ages of people to engage in," Thomas said.

Skate events in Asheville? Roller derby events?

There are both upcoming Asheville skating events and regional roller derby events coming up.

Blue Ridge Roller Derby is part of a triple-header in Waynesville at 7 p.m. May 18 at the Smoky Mountain Event Center. Tickets are $10 and free for kids ages 11 and under.

Parks and Recreation's Shiloh Center is hosting a summer skate series at Carrier Park on the first and fourth Friday of each month from May to August, partnering with AVLSk8 to bring a roller rink to Asheville for a few hours on the weekends. Here are the dates:

• May 3, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

• May 24, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

• June 7, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

• June 28, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

• July 5, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

• July 26, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

• August 2, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

• August 23, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected]. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Answer Man: New 'West Asheville Roller Rink' coming to Haywood Road?