GREENACRES, Fla. — A Palm Beach County landmark is closing its doors at the end of August. The Atlantis Skateway in Greenacres is calling it quits after 47 years of serving up good times and great fun.
Many folks like Michelle Bonan are putting on a pair of skates for one more go-around.
Bonan remembers fondly walking through the doors of the Atlantis Skateway, lacing up a pair of skates and hitting the floor.
"It was a great experience. I came with a couple of friends from school," Bonan said. "I had never been here before, and it was great."
Throughout the years, she continued to show up to skate.
"If I wasn't in school, my mother would drop me off here until it closed," she said.
She became friends with the owner and a lifelong friend with the owner's daughter, Britni Murphy. She said it hurts to know that the place is closing.
"I was very, very, sad. I was actually heartbroken," Bonan said.
Atlantis Skateway opened in Greenacres in 1975.
"Back in the early 80s, late 70s, we'd have 500 a night and back then everybody was skating," Murphy said.
For the past two decades, Murphy has run the place. She said through the years interest in skating ebbed and flowed. However, recently her family made the hard decision to close the skate center.
"With the cost of business these days, it's tough, much tougher," Murphy said. "Insurance, taxes, all that business stuff, it was definitely a difficult decision."
Over the years, Murphy and her family have met some wonderful people and families. She said it's the relationships she'll miss the most.
"We hope that we touched many families through the years and have made many friends, and family through the years," Murphy said. "I may be an only child, but I have lots of brothers and sisters thanks to this building."
The last day for the Atlantis Skateway is Aug. 20, but they're going out with a bang by being open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
