Now this is a great repurposing of a building — beloved family-owned drugstore to all-volunteer roller rink.
Here’s how that happened. The popular Skate King roller rink went out of business in 2015. That meant, until this summer, there were no indoor roller skating options on the Eastside. But as of July 1, disco balls and toe stops were back at work across Lake Washington as the nonprofit Rock and Roll Roller Rink opened its doors in Issaquah.
The new rink is housed in a former Bartell Drugs store at 5700 E Lake Sammamish Parkway SE, and according to reports in The Issaquah Spotlight and other media, the operation was built up from an occasional weekend rental space at Pickering Barn to the now permanent rink in the old store space by three passionate, committed skating lovers. Rink co-founder Alysa Webb used to work at the old Skate Kind, while fellow co-founders Irene Pasternack and Ed Mills teach through the Seattle-based skating group Skate Journeys.
The new rink is open Tuesday through Sunday, offering public skates, learn-to-skate classes, birthday party space, and a slew of special events (Duran Duran Appreciation Day and Celebrate Summerween to name but two recent events).
Hint: It pays to go to Rock and Roll Roller Rink in numbers. Single tickets are $20. However, if you purchase two tickets together, the price is $17.50, and if you bring a crew of three, the price drops to $15 per person. Skate rentals are an additional $7 per person. Frequent visitors may want to consider the $75 monthly pass. Just there to watch your kids? No charge for you.
The best part? This rink is literally all about community — as a nonprofit, it’s run entirely by volunteers. The rink needs about eight volunteers per session to keep things rolling. So, if you or your kids love to skate, consider joining the volunteer team. Just fill out a volunteer interest form. More questions? Check out the rink’s FAQ page.
