CLOSURE: Pop-up roller rink forced to shut down early in Burlington mall

A pop-up roller rink that faced opening issues in a Burlington mall has just found out it will have to shut down early.

SUSO Skate Co., a roller rink business that transforms empty retail spaces into fun community destinations, opened in the former Decathlon store in Mapleview Shopping Centre, 900 Maple Ave. in Burlington, this March. The opening was delayed after permit issues with the City of Burlington.

They had planned to stay until the end of January 2027.

But SUSO just found out the mall has found a permanent tenant for the space, and their last day is June 28, SUSO Skate Co. co-owner Henry O’Brien told INsauga.com.

“This devastating news was unexpected, forcing our small business to scramble to find a new location, retain staff and recoup our initial investment,” O’Brien said.

SUSO has a speciality lease, and there is a clause stating the mall could terminate the agreement if they found a long-term tenant.

O’Brien understands the mall’s perspective and knew this was a possibility.

“They want a long-term tenant that will stay there for 10, 15, 20 years,” he said. “We are the gap-filler in the interim.”

SUSO spent about $30,000 to $40,000 to prepare the space, train staff, retain permits and on marketing, O’Brien said. They had hoped to make that money back.

“We have much less time to make that investment back,” he said.

Opening just in time for March break, the business has been doing well, he said.

“It’s been our busiest pop-up location since we started doing this five years ago,” O’Brien said.

It was also one of the nicer spaces they have occupied, he added.

O’Brien encourages anyone who was thinking of trying out the space to do so in the next few weeks. They hope to be as busy as possible.

“Anyone who has been planning to come but hasn’t made it can think about coming sooner rather than later,” he said.

All bookings past June 28 will be offered to reschedule or a full refund, he said.

There are no confirmed plans yet for a new location, but they are looking for a new space.

Founded by husband-and-wife team Henry O’Brien and Janine Bartels in 2021, the pop-up, which started at The Bentway in Toronto, has expanded across the GTA, taking over stores at Bramalea City Centre, Oshawa Centre, Cambridge Centre, Promenade Shopping Centre, CF Shops at Don Mills and Cloverdale Mall.

To book or learn more, visit the website here.

 

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