"You know, we’re young and we’re dumb, so we couldn’t tell the difference between salt and sugar in a cotton candy machine."
When Gabe Colon and Pam Mostacero heard the Super Wheels skating center in Kendall was going to close in 2023, they made it their mission to save it.
The iconic venue — which had existed under the names Hot Wheels or Super Wheels — had been a Kendall institution since 1986.
It was the venue for countless birthday parties, unsupervised teenage meetups, and weekly flexing for experienced skaters who had been mastering their skills since they were kids.
But suddenly in November 2023, owner Thomas Mitchell announced the place was closing.
That was after the Crystal Plaza strip mall, where the skating rink is located, was sold, and he couldn’t reach an agreement with the new landlords.
The couple sprang into action, looking for funds wherever they could. They mortgaged their house and got their parents to give them some of their savings.
“We put our house at stake here,” Pam Mostacero said. “It really was a family endeavor and something we felt was a priority.”
Read more at the Miami Herald