Memories of good times abound even as future of burned Puyallup skate rink uncertain
For many people, Tiffany’s Skate Inn in Puyallup was much more than a place to rent a pair of skates and roll across a varnished floor under a twirling disco ball.
It was a special waypoint on their journey to adulthood.
Over the past five decades at the rink at 1113 N. Meridian, people met spouses, developed life-long friendships and learned that they were cared about.
Suzie Akeson spent at least once a week skating at Tiffany’s, now known as King Family Fun Center, while growing up in the 1970s. Akeson and her friends played “Shoot-the-Duck,” took lessons and skated all night during 12-hour parties.
“Tiffany’s has always been there, and I hope it always will be,” she said.
That remains to be seen. A fire badly damaged the rink this month, leaving owners Dennis and Melinda King to decide next steps.
When it burned, Dennis, a fourth generation skate rink owner, compared it to his father’s death.
“It was really painful,” he said.
Devastating fire
The King’s Family Fun Center caught fire Sept. 8. Melinda King was in the parking lot, interviewing new staff for the upcoming season.
She went inside to grab something and initially thought the smoky smell and light haze was from the wildfires burning in the area. She walked across the large building to the electrical panel and found it aflame.
“I immediately called 911, and grabbed the fire extinguisher and figured out how to use it on my way back over,’ Melinda said. “When I got back, it was a little too much and they told me to get out.”
Half of the power to the building had been out, due to the strong winds knocking down power lines. The other half of their electricity was on and working.
The couple is grateful no one else was in the building at the time. Independent fire investigator told the Kings they are confident it started in mechanical electrical closet and that foul play was not a factor. Exact cause is still under investigation.
The fire caused between $2.5 million and $4.3 million in damage, contractors told the owners. Fire crews have deemed the building unsafe.
The Kings are waiting to hear back from the insurance company on whether they can restore the 50-year-old building or rebuild. They hope to reopen the rink.
“This is us,” Melinda said.
“This rink is a part of the family,” Dennis said.
The fire was the latest of a year of struggles.
In February, Tiffany’s Skate became the King Family Fun Center to rebrand the business as more than just a skate rink, the owners said. The center has an arcade and a mini golf course.
A month later they were forced to shut their doors. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a five-month closure.
The Kings made the most of the closure. Walls got a fresh coat of paint, and the skating floor was sanded and refinished for the first time in 24 years.
The Kings said it was the best the rink had looked in decades. They opened Aug. 12 as a “fitness skate” rink following Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start guidelines for fitness centers.
“We were just starting to get back on our feet,” Melinda said.
Now, portions of the building have been burned and torn out. Smoke damage coats the inside. Soot lines the walls.
Many memories tied to rink
For half a century, the business has been a pillar of school fundraising and teen memories. Students would put on rented quad skates and enjoy an evening with minimal parental oversight.
“It’s a safe place to bring the family and unplug,” Savanna Jensen said.
She started skating when she could walk. Her father, a former speed skater, taught her at Tiffany’s. Jensen said every weekend since she was 12 was spent at the rink. She joined the skate team for a year before a car accident kept her from skating. She wanted to stay involved at the rink, and the Kings hired her when she was 16.
As a staffer, she met her current husband. Skate Tiffany’s was a second home, she said.
“It was definitely really tough to see my and everyone else’s childhood memories burn up in flames. It was the most heart-wrenching thing,” Jensen said.
When the news broke, she drove to the center to watch firefighters put out the fire with the Kings.
Bernardus Reygers’ parents met at the rink, and it’s where he and his brother learned to skate. His school wrestling team would hold fundraisers there.
“I still go there to this day,” he said. “I taught my daughter how to skate here.”
Twenty years ago, Christine Hugo and her now husband met when she was a 16-year-old staffer. While she recently moved away, Hugo cannot imagine Puyallup without the skate rink.
“This place has had a significant impact on our lives and introduced me to the love of my life,” she said.
Others remember the business being there for their time of need. Dana Ruch said she was hit by a drunk driver in 2009 and both her legs were broken. Friends rallied and held fundraisers at the rink to help pay the medical bills.
“I will never forget how humbled I felt having friends push me around the skating rink in my wheelchair,” Ruch said.
Nineteen-year-old Autumn Lyle said her family has been skating at the rink and on the speed team before she was born. Until Lyle was a junior in high school, she spent every Friday night at the rink.
Lyle pestered skate rink co-owner, Dennis King, about his music choices so much, he added a song request list.
“Tiffany’s was my childhood and where I met a lot of my childhood best friends,” Lyle said.
Community support
The King family said they have been overwhelmed by the amount of support businesses and individuals have given.
From kind, personal messages on social media to fundraising and T-shirt designs.
“It’s truly been a gift,” Melinda said.
Aimee Aguilar created a GoFundMe for the family to stay afloat while they decide on next steps. The fundraiser has collected more than $16,000 in a week.
A downtown Tacoma print and promotional company, Brand Stratos, designed vintage “Skate Tiffany’s” T-shirts, where half of sales go to the Kings.
As of Friday morning, 202 items have been sold for a total donation amount of $2,800. The fundraiser will run until Oct. 11.
“We were talking about the fire around the office, and we all shared these memories of school skate nights and the snack shack and ‘the Graveyard,’ which is a mix of all the pop flavors,” Brand Stratos’ vice president Lauren Adler said. “It’s a community staple, and we’d hate to see it go.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
