After more than 70 years in the roller skating business SkateDaze has announced it will close at the end of March.
Back in 1946 Frank Cernik started off with a portable maple floor roller rink and a a huge tent. He moved the rink from town to town across Eastern Nebraska from Wahoo to Tekamah.
Cernik later bought a rink in Fremont and then moved to Omaha. He built the then state-of-the art Skateland at 108th and Q. The Cernik family would go on to build five more rinks in Omaha. The last was SkateDaze near in 1982 near 132nd and Grover.
On Tuesday the Cernik family released this statement:
“It’s with a heavy heart that after 73 years of sharing our love of roller skating with Nebraska, that we are here to say goodbye. We have been truly blessed by the support, and patronage of the Omaha community, for which we are forever grateful. We will cherish the relationships and friendships that we have developed over the past seven decades."
"This was not an easy decision for us and has been undeniably the most difficult decision we’ve had to make as a business. SkateDaze is a healthy, successful business that has given us years of enjoyment. SkateDaze has been a place full of smiles, love, and family memories. We’ve worked hard to create a safe space for all to learn and grow for generations. Many of you hold us near and dear to your hearts and have treated us as a member of your own family. For which we are without words to express the honor felt by allowing us to be a part of your family, and community. The years have flown by so quickly, and they have gifted us with endless memories and friendships, but It is time for us to retire and pursue our other passions."
If you like to roller skate you can still go to Skate City on Fort Crook Road in Bellevue.