MCADOO, Pa. — The Strand Roller Rink in McAdoo is empty these days, but the hope is not for long.
The rink reopens Friday night after being closed for three weeks because of another set of statewide COVID-19 mitigation orders.
"Very excited, but you're also very nervous about it. You're going to get shut down again because we've seen this before. You get excited, you stock your shelves, you buy all the stock, and then all of a sudden your given one day's notice you got to close again," said John Shigo, owner of The Strand Roller Rink.
That's a worry Shigo says is always in the back of his mind.
Shigo owns the building and the cafe next door, which has helped him stay afloat during each closure.
However, a big part of the rink's income comes from hosting birthday parties, about 60 to 70 percent.
"Normally, we would average maybe one birthday party on Friday, three on Saturdays, three on Sunday, and as far as this past year when we were allowed to be open, we were very fortunate if we even had one party per weekend. Sometimes it was one party every other weekend," said Shigo.
When families and kids come back for some skating fun, there are a couple of things they're going to have to do before the check-in, including getting their temperature taken when they're paying for their ticket and using hand sanitizer before entry.
"I know the kids are looking forward, especially with the kids not having in-person learning yet," Shigo said. "They're still doing everything virtually. Everyone just after the holidays, everyone's looking to get out and do something."
Shigo hopes the year will bring back business lost by the coronavirus, one skate at a time.
The Strand is open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6 p.m.- 9 p.m., and all ages are welcome.
On Sundays from 2:30 pm- 4:30 pm, all ages are welcome.