Ramona Pouncy can vividly recall the red and black patent leather skates her mother and father wore when they took her as a child to The Rink’s original location on 89th and Ashland for family skate nights.
“We would skate together,” said Ramona, who is now the co-owner of the roller rink she grew up skating in. For her, The Rink has always been a multigenerational, familial space. It’s played a critical role in her family’s lives and served as a community hub in the Chatham neighborhood for half a century. Her husband and business partner, Curtis Pouncy, remembers coming with friends as a teenager to skate and, at times, frequenting The Rink two or three times per week.
The couple purchased The Rink from the original owners in 2019, navigated a temporary closure during the pandemic, and later completed major renovations and improvements. With that in mind, making it to the Rink’s 50th anniversary in June is both a personal and communal victory.
With the closure of many Illinois skate rinks including Orbit Skate Center Palatine in 2018, Lombard Roller Rink in 2023, and Glenwood Roller Rink this year, The Rink is a staple not just on the South Side but in the region. In fact, The Rink remains the only Black-owned roller rink in the state of Illinois.
On June 7th, beloved Chatham native, Chance the Rapper took to Instagram during the Rink’s 50th anniversary weekend to give a shout out to the space that he calls “a powerhouse in our community.”
While the reality of roller rinks closing across the country remains true, the rise in skating during the isolated days of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a nationwide resurgence in interest, especially among young people.
Since taking over, the Pouncy’s have stayed committed to preserving the best of the past and continuing to invest in innovations meant to serve the holistic well-being of the community.
A ‘Safe Space’ to Skate
The entrance to The Rink is easy to miss for anyone who’s not already a regular. As you drive down 87th street, the turn onto a rough gravel driveway leads to a large parking lot behind an industrial building. The roller rink entrance is a small red door with a white sign that reads, “Welcome to The Rink.”
After purchasing a ticket—only $8 on Fridays without a skate rental—a metal detector serves as a threshold between the outside world and the roller rink.
“This is a safe space, and we’re going to keep it as a safe space,” said Ramona.
There’s a current of trust that travels throughout the building. New lockers line the wall—an improvement implemented by the Pouncy’s—but most remain unlocked with some people even leaving bags on top of the lockers.
Young couples venture from the smaller rink for less experienced skaters to the main floor, sheepishly holding hands. A referee in a black and white button-down blows her whistle at rowdy kids. Parents record their children trying new skate tricks. Friends gossip and eat snacks near the concession stands.
The soundtrack of The Rink reflects the many generations present. While older couples skate in slow unison to “Stars” by Kindred the Family Soul and teens perform TikTok dances on skates to “Hellcats SRTs” by Sexyy Red, no one can resist dramatically mouthing the chorus of “Love” by Keyshia Cole.
The smooth moves of JB skating are brought to life by young and senior skaters. The artistic skating style was created by Chicagoans in the 1970s who wanted to mirror the dance moves of James Brown. Skaters show off signature moves: the “big wheel,” “gangster walk,” “crazy legs,” and “criss-cross.” Dressed casually in hoodies, jeans, and jerseys, skaters balance on one foot, crouch low to the floor, and skate backwards with ease.
When Nate Simpson and Carmen Simpson opened The Rink on June 10, 1975, skating was a central part of Black social life, especially in Chicago. For over forty years the couple owned what became a hub for community celebration; birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries. In 2019, with ticket sales at a low and retirement on the horizon, the Simpsons approached the Pouncy’s, who were already experienced business owners, to see if they were interested in purchasing The Rink and continuing its legacy.
At first, the magnitude of the ask was overwhelming.
“We had no intentions of acquiring The Rink,” said Ramona. “We were just skaters like everybody else and we were just trying to help once we heard that it might be closing.”
For months, the Pouncys supported Nate with applying for grants to help offset the cost of repairs and business expenses, but the reality of The Rink’s financial situation and the amount of work needed to remodel was too daunting for the Simpsons to take on. At one point, the Simpons seriously considered selling to a trucking company that would repurpose the skating rink for their corporate offices. Curtis knew that decision would “devastate the community.” The Pouncy’s recognized the importance of the Rink as more than just a place to skate on the weekend.
“We need[ed] to pray about this and count the costs,” said Ramona. “When we decided that this was something that we wanted to do, the deal closed in three weeks.”
In 2019, the Pouncy’s took over ownership of The Rink with the intention of giving skaters “a place that they can be proud of,” said Curtis.
The first few years were challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the roller rink for months in 2020, and a much needed remodel closed The Rink for a little under a year starting in 2021. Since its reopening in September 2022, The Rink has boasted new carpeting, flooring and lighting, fresh paint, and repairs to the building’s exterior. Despite all the changes, it’s also sustained a communal culture.
“It’s more like a family environment, and we want to be able to to keep it as a family environment and at the same time [are] running it as business,” said Ramona. “There’s that corporate, business side, but [there’s] also that emotional side that you develop with your skaters.”
Friday nights feel particularly lively, with the Family Skate welcoming teens and children to take to the floor.
Jasmine Bis, a community member and regular at The Rink, has been bringing her nine-year-old son for Family Skate Nights regularly since October. After attending a birthday party at the roller rink, she noticed his excitement for skating and thought coming more regularly might offer him a healthy social activity outside of school.
In the last five months, they’ve only missed a handful of Friday skate nights. “No matter how tired I am, no matter what’s going on, we gotta go skating,” said Bis.
“Some of these youth we see are probably doing trends from downtown [teen takeovers], but on Friday night, they’re skating,” said Bis. “It’s a safe place, a safe environment, to keep them out of trouble.”
Prioritizing Community Wellness
For Ramona, The Rink exists as a space that holds endless possibilities for community care and outreach. As a certified nutritionist, she’s leveraging the recreational space as a way to bring holistic wellness to her community.
“What can we do to positively impact our community, at large?” said Ramona. This is a question she ponders regularly when thinking about ways to make The Rink a space that serves the many needs of the neighborhood.
Ramona noticed during the pandemic that people weren’t able to see their physicians. When it was safe for folks to gather again in person, she began hosting nutrition classes every week, focusing on diet and exercise as natural remedies to health care issues. Ramona provided cooking demos and tested recipes with class attendees. The fan favorites eventually ended up as healthy alternative options on The Rink’s concession menu including her smoothies, salads and sweet potato nachos.
“You can still get your pizza [and] your hot wings and all that, but you can have a green drink with it,” she said.
She envisions creating more programs to “uplift our youth” like tutoring to offset the negative toll the COVID-19 pandemic took on students. The Rink recently had an event for Autism Awareness month in April and has been working with a local second chance program that supports previously incarcerated people.
To support the talents and creativity of local artists, The Rink opened a contest for mural ideas that would be featured during the 50th Anniversary Glow In the Dark celebration on June 7. Ramona interviewed the four selected muralists—Jess Patterson, Dreama Dickerson, Araic Anderson, and AJ Brown—on The Rink’s Instagram to shine a light on their artistry.
For parents like Jasmine Bis, observing the youth and their creativity and talent brings her joy during her regular weekend visits to The Rink.
“It warms my heart,” said Bis. “These are kids that probably picked up skating three [or] four years ago. They learn fast and they pick it up really fast, even my son. It’s just amazing to see what they can do in such little time.”
A big part of the family feeling at The Rink is the legacy and tradition of JB skating culture that’s been passed down through the generations. The Rink continues to teach and promote the unique skating style by providing affordable skate lessons designed for all ages. As parents like Bis introduce their children to the skating tradition, those unique cultural elements are not only sustained, but grown.
When asked about their dreams for the future of The Rink, the Pouncy’s simply hope it continues to remain open and serve the community with a high quality roller rink experience. It’s especially important that each skater knows how essential their support and use of the space is.
“You support this rink, we’re going to be here,” said Curtis. “If you stop coming—you stop supporting this rink—we don’t have any customers, we’re not going to be here.”
Near the front of the building, a decades-old Wall of Fame featuring the portraits of dozens of skaters hangs above the lockers. The faces of skating regulars from over the years light up under the glowing twinkle lights strung across the photographs.
“This is a magical place,” said Ramona. The magic isn’t in the music, or the skates, but the people whose love for The Rink continues to carry it forward.
Jasmine is a writer, facilitator, and community builder living in Hyde Park. You can learn more about her work at www.jasbarnes.com.