Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
Aloha Fun Center, a skating rink and arcade in San Jose’s Eastridge Mall, is slated to close on March 23, the victim of higher rents.
One of the last remaining roller rinks in the South Bay, the venue has offered untimed skating six days a week since its opening in 2018, along with an arcade, mini golf and laser tag. The rink attracts skaters of all ages, with upward of 1,000 skaters on average weekends.
Fourteen-year-old Josie Barker of San Jose said she cried when she found out that Aloha was closing. “I’m so sad. This is the only rink I go to. I love the environment, the music and the people I’ve met there.”
The closure leaves San Jose skaters with only one indoor option: the Plex, a sports venue in southeast San Jose. It offers indoor timed skating sessions — selling tickets for limited time slots — and is open Fridays and Saturdays.
The number of Americans participating in roller skating has declined by around 25% from 2010 to 2023, according to the data site Statista.
Recent rink closures elsewhere are significant because they reflect a wider decline in the number of “third places” — public spaces such as cafes, parks and libraries that are separate from one’s home or school and work.
Third places are especially important for teens, providing them with the opportunity to build social connections and relationships, said Danielle Littman, assistant professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Utah.
Data from the University of Michigan and San Diego State University shows that the number of weekly social outings for 12th and eighth graders has dropped by almost 40% from 1990 to 2020. Meanwhile, 36% of teens say that they spend too much time on social media, and 46% report using the internet almost constantly, according to the Pew Research Center.
Littman explained that spending time in third places like roller rinks is still critical, because virtual spaces lack the true grounding experience of physical connection.
Liz Ruiz, the owner of Aloha Fun Center, said roller skating has been with her throughout her life.
“I was an absolute rink rat when I was a kid. It was my social circle, all my friends were there, it was everything,” she said. After getting her first job as an adult, she went back to skating to stay active.
Ruiz began the rink as a series of pop-ups, starting with hosting pop-up roller disco sessions at Roosevelt Park. It was an effort to keep alive the legacy of the Aloha Roller Palace, a former San Jose roller rink that opened in 1977 and closed in 2014. Gradually, she transitioned to pop-ups at Eastridge Mall, and after a successful holiday skating pop-up in 2018, the mall gave her a permanent offer.
“When we announced that we were going to open there, that post went viral. The mall had never seen a response like that to anything,” Ruiz said. “So, we knew before we even officially opened our doors that we had the community support behind us.”
However, Ruiz said that her lease was only meant to be short-term — she was paying lower “pop-up” rent rather than market value. She is closing because the mall found a tenant who would pay market rate, which Ruiz said she can’t afford. Eastridge has not yet announced what business will open in the space.
Longtime skaters like Kevin Ledbetter are sad to see Aloha go. He has come from San Mateo to skate at Aloha three times a week for the past three years.
“It’s a really good atmosphere, with people helping each other and being friendly, it’s a great place to be,” he said, adding that he met someone who became one of his best friends at Aloha.
Ruiz said that she is looking for places to reopen Aloha but is discouraged by high rents. Another concern is that most properties are not built for skating and require significant renovation to transform them into rinks.
Above all, Ruiz said she would like to stay local so that she can continue serving the community that has supported her for so long.
“I’m from San Jose, born and raised, and so my commitment is to this community,” Ruiz said. “My priority is to make sure that the South Bay has a roller rink.”
Antara Gangwal is a member of the Class of 2025 at Leland High School. Nischal Jasti is a sophomore at Silver Creek High School in San Jose.