New indoor roller skating rink opens its doors in Kitchener

Rolling back in time, a new roller skating rink has opened up for a soft launch in Kitchener.

It was created by husband-and-wife team, Elaine Beck and Phil Morris, who wanted to bring some joy into the community, providing a way for people to socialize like before.

Retro Rollers has been hosting roller skating pop-up events across Waterloo Region over the years. After seeing the success of their pop-up location at The Boardwalk in the summer of 2024, they knew they had to open a rink in Kitchener.

It took years for them to find the right location, and the pandemic may have slowed some progress, but after just a couple of months of construction, Retro Rollers has unveiled its first location.

“Eight-years now that we’ve been trying to build this business and hit every single mountain you can climb. Basically, we climbed that mountain in the construction and now we’re at the bottom of the next mountain, now we’re onto the business side of things. I’m excited to see what the future has for us,” said Beck while on The Mike Farwell Show this week.

The couple did most of the construction work on their own with some help from volunteers.

“We hauled 200 sheets of drywall downstairs, all the framing to do with that,” said Morris.

“Every day we started off and still do with a double high five and ‘This is gonna be a great day,’ no matter what, we try to stay positive. It’s tough, but we do,” added Beck.

The couple has spent the last several months turning the lower level of a plaza, located under an auto-parts store and Shoppers Drug Mart, into one of the only roller-skating rinks around.

The new rink is located at 563 Highland Rd. W. in Kitchener, Morris says people will see a disco ball in the doorway, letting them know to head downstairs for a skate.

The roller skating rink is equipped with smooth epoxy flooring, preventing wheels from getting caught and has some support bars for beginners, a dedicated practice space, a snack bar (that Beck touts has some of the best espresso around), as well as a rental shop that is home to about 700 skates. They offer free coat check to keep winter snow and salt off the rink.

“Come on through and be wowed right away. A lot of people are extremely surprised by the size of this space, the space is 20,000 square feet,” said Beck.

Residents in the region are invited to start booking birthday parties or events at the new roller rink. Currently, as part of a soft launch, admission to the rink is $15 per person, and rentals are an extra $5. The rink is open from Wednesday to Sunday at different times.

The rink also hosts themed skates, with plans to add more to the list as they continue to build.