An Ice Rink is a Handicap

Operating a business in an ice rink is a bigger handicap than you would expect. Before we opened, I was sure we could win over skaters and their families by offering healthy food at reasonable prices, despite the rink’s refusal to support us with a “no outside food or drink” policy. Pierre assured us he had spoken to many skaters to find out their needs in a cafe so we could fulfill them.

The rink was situated in a relatively undeveloped area. There were empty fields, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, a few businesses, and some apartments. The only other eating places nearby consisted of 1 restaurant and a gas station – and the sports venues had snack bars that were open during tournaments. Once again, I thought we could win over the neighborhood and become their favorite bar, especially since we were close enough for them to walk home if need be.

When we opened the bar, it doubled our cash flow almost immediately. So I thought I was seeing the turn around I had assumed would happen and success was just around the corner. But we were still floundering. And it became quite clear Pierre’s marketing plan was non-existent. So Kyle and I started exploring the world of marketing. It’s hard to do everything, but it was make or break time so we had to try. Kyle worked with local breweries to have Pint Nights in the bar. We did coupons, flyers, and cold contacts. We searched for websites to list our business, whatever we could think of. Still Pierre did nothing.

We got some new, outside business but it didn’t last long. People just don’t think of going to an ice rink for dinner and a beer. And part of the problem was the kids. We didn’t allow kids in the bar without their parents, but not all parents watch their kids or respect the adult environment of a bar. Plus the kids were running wild just outside the door. Siblings of skaters have nothing to do during practice or competition so they use the entire lobby as a screaming playground. I once suggested that the rink put in a playground for the kids, but that went nowhere. I thought it was a great idea, since it would cut down on the chaos and destruction in the lobby.

I truly believed the numbers were turning in our favor when we opened the bar. I knew the last ditch effort to market the bar would tell me everything. And it did. Business did not increase enough for our cafe to become a viable entity. My biggest mistake here was not realizing the extreme handicap of being in an ice arena and insisting on a “no outside food or drink” policy to even sign the contract for the space. I listened to Pierre and Todd as they painted the the glistening future of this business opportunity. I believed Pierre and Todd as they promised their support in this joint venture. After all, they were the resident experts. I was Taken, and Liam Neeson wasn’t around to save me.

Hockey Camps

You’d think hockey camps would bring good money to the cafe, but even the camps had limited participation. When the local hockey team held camps in our facility, we had good business from the kids once the parents found we had a good lunch deal – 1/4 pizza, chips or fruit, cookie, and squirt top water bottle for $5.25. However, the coaches from corporate didn’t eat with us at all. These are our landlords in the building for a week and didn’t buy lunch from us even one time – in fact, Tuesday they brought in pizza from an outside restaurant. So Friday afternoon, I went over and had words with them about patronizing their tenants and setting an example for the students to patronize us as well. There was one independent hockey coach, Ryan, who approached us as soon as we opened to let us know he would recommend us in all his hockey camp emails. It was so refreshing to have at least one person who believed in supporting us and appreciated that we were there.

Every summer there was some sort of hockey ministry camp. The first time we met them, they brought us their coolers to be filled with ice. Once filled, we took the coolers out to where the camp counselors were standing. I asked the woman if there was anything we could do to get their business sometime that week. She explained they had already set up all the lunches to be brought in and they told the kids not to bring money so there would be no business for us. Then she asked if we would add water to some of the coolers. We didn’t have a faucet tall enough to get the coolers under to fill, so I suggested they talk to the front desk to see if the building had a faucet or hose to fill the coolers. When the ministry’s lunch came in the next day, she wanted to borrow a large knife. We only had one in our sanitized kitchen so we couldn’t lend it – often people forget to return items and who knows what they did with it when they had it. Having a safe kitchen was our first priority. The third day, she asked for large buffet spoons for their lunch. We didn’t have any of these because we sell pizza; we have no need for buffet serving utensils. That’s when she totally chewed me out for not helping them when they needed it. These people are supposed to be mentoring children with Christianly advise. Some of the counselors would take naps on our couch in the bar. Other times, they would set up their Bible study in front of the cafe. A huge lobby with plenty of space to set up chairs without blocking someone’s business and they set up in front of the cafe, blocking the entire counter. I don’t think these people are qualified to call themselves Christian counselors – I certainly wouldn’t want them influencing my children. I did make some money off the kids, which I think made her even more angry with me. I baked fresh cookies at lunch time each day and fresh popcorn in the afternoon. Those kids who were told not to bring money, suddenly had enough to buy cookies and popcorn. I guess I’m just evil.

Once again this boils down to ‘no outside food or drink’. It’s a must-have rule in an environment like this. Just like retail stores make deals that their competitor can’t be in the same strip center, you have to make deals in favor of your restaurant. You can always compromise outside food on a case by case basis, because no one can eat pizza for lunch 5 days in a row, but at least you have the power to deal. And where was Pierre in all of this? Why didn’t he talk to the ministry people and make a deal for the next year? He’s marketing, he should be taking care of this. And why isn’t he talking to corporate? He used to work with these guys and probably has all their emails. It is unacceptable for corporate to decide not to patronize their tenants.

We Appreciate Your Support!

While the figure skaters didn’t seem to care if there was a food source in the building, there were lots of hockey families who totally embraced us. The after-school crowd patronized us frequently. It was so handy for them to come straight from school and eat while at the rink. Many families were there from 3pm – 8pm (or later), so it was great to be able to feed their children at the exact time it fit into their child’s hockey schedule. We got tons of compliments on our menu. Many families are trying to reduce the amount of fat in their diets and none of our food was fried. Their kids could carbo-load on french fries and chicken nuggets all day and none of it was cooked in grease. And of course we had plenty of ketchup and ranch dressing.

We did our best to be accommodating because these families were in the rink several days a week, week after week. We had 1 or 2 families whom we carried a tab for – but that was unusual because you don’t want to get stuck with people owing you money. We had many families with multiple kids in multiple sports, so sometimes they would pay ahead for their child to have dinner while they went to the football field for another child. When their child came off the ice, we would cook their meal fresh and hot. We also had a meal deal, especially during hockey camp, 1/4 pizza, fruit cup, squirt water bottle, and a cookie for $5.25. You can’t beat that.

The hockey families kept us alive. I think they supported us because we were handy and reasonably priced, and also because many of them are business people and know a business needs a lot of support to get started and keep going. If you want a business to be there when you need them, you must support them other times as well. I will always be grateful to the people who supported us, figure skaters and hockey players alike.