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Date: 2/3/2021
WILBRAHAM – At Interskate 91 South on Boston Road in Wilbraham, there’s no music playing overhead, no lights flashing on the surface of the floor – and worse – no paying customers gliding by on roller skates.
For Interskate 91 South owner Rob Gould, the threat of being forced into permanent closure has been “a constant fear for the past several months.”
Gould bought the business in January of 2020. Just two and a half months later, the pandemic shut down most businesses. When the rink was allowed to reopen during Phase 3 Step 2 of the governor’s reopening plan, Gould said, “We took every necessary protocol.” Interskate implemented a mask mandate, stringent cleaning and temperature taking, and erected plexiglass barriers. However, after being open for two months, Gould was forced to close his doors again, when the state was set back to Phase 3, Step 1 in mid-December.
In this phase of the reopening plan, businesses that are allowed to be open include movie theaters, outdoor performance venues, museums, cultural and historic sites, fitness centers, health clubs and certain indoor recreational activities with low potential for contact. Those certain activities include, among others, ice skating rinks, which opened in early November. Roller rinks, however, remain closed.
“Roller skating is a recreational activity that requires physical distance. People can’t skate closer than six, seven, eight, 10 feet apart,” Gould said. He stated that he feels roller rinks are being “discriminated against.”
Interskate 91 South has sought financial help in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program, which was awarded to the rink in the spring. That money does not have to be paid back, but the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) that Gould had to take out to keep the business afloat does have to be repaid, with interest.
Gould said that his business is ineligible for most of the pandemic aid available from the state, while restaurants that have remained open, albeit in a diminished capacity, have received various forms of financial aid.
“Somebody, please justify the reasoning there, that [the state is] keeping us closed, but won’t give us any help,” Gould lamented. He said that he has reached out to the governor’s office several times and has not heard back.
Interskate is not without someone in its corner, though.
“The town of Wilbraham has been incredibly supportive,” Gould said. On Feb. 1, the three Select Board members agreed to send a letter to the Gov. Charlie Baker, urging him to allow Interskate 91 South to reopen. The town also waived the municipal business fees for the rink this year.
Reminder Publishing reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for comment, but did not hear back as of press time.