Fishback & Stephenson Cider House hosts skate party

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield might not have a dedicated skating rink, but that hasn’t stopped residents from finding other places to go skating.

Volition Skate Co. sells roller skates and their accessories from its storefront on the south side of the Fairfield square, and the company has hosted several “pop-up” roller skating rinks in the past year. A pop-up rink refers to skating in a place that is not normally used for roller skating. The business hosted another of those pop-up rinks Tuesday night at Fishback & Stephenson Cider House just north of Fairfield.

Clint Stephenson, one of the business’s owners, said Tuesday was the fourth time his business has hosted a pop-up skate with Volition Skate Co. The ground floor of the building is perfect for skating since there’s plenty of room to maneuver, and space leftover for diners to enjoy their meal in the center of it all. Stephenson tried something new Tuesday by inviting another business, Shokai Sushi, to make a sushi bar for patrons in the center of the dining room while skaters raced around the outside.

“It’s winter time, and we just wanted to do something fun, to give people an option to get out and do something fun on a week night,” Stephenson said. “Our customers love the skating. They seem to really enjoy it.”

Stephenson said his business is normally closed on Tuesdays, but he made an exception for the pop-up skate.

“This is like a private party that’s open to the public,” he said.

Stephenson said the added exposure to his business has been great, and that he’s got 11 spring and summer concerts already lined up for this year. He said the business’s cider sales have been going strong, too, with traditional distributors in four states now, and the ability to sell to consumers in 43 states.

Among the patrons at Tuesday night’s pop-up skate were Jennifer Courtney, Sarah Enloe and Lindsay Vesely. Enloe said she’s been into skating for quite a while, and even had her 10th birthday party at Fairfield’s former skating rink on the southeast edge of town.

“We wanted to come out for the cider and sushi,” Enloe said. “Skating was a fun way for me to do cardio today. I love this atmosphere, even to just sit and chill. The skating makes it that much better.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com