Skating is the perfect pandemic hobby, and this South End shop opened just in time.
A new business quietly rolled into South End last month.
Derby City Skates, which sells roller skates, inline skates, longboards, helmets, pads and accessories, opened its doors in early November in the Centro Railyard Building.
Susan Konczal opened the first Derby City Skates location in Winston-Salem in 2010, after she and her roller derby teammates had difficulty finding anywhere local to try on skates. Over the years, she has also hauled a trailer all over the country, selling skates and equipment at roller derby events.
But in March, Konczal saw every event on her calendar canceled due to COVID-19.
She remembered discussing how she would get through it with her husband.
“I told him, ‘You know, there’s nothing we can do to control this. It’s OK I’ve got enough reserves, I’ll be able to pay my rent, and we’ll just hope this doesn’t last very long,’” she said. “At that point, we didn’t know what we were in for.”
Just as she couldn’t have foreseen a coronavirus pandemic canceling all of her roller derby events, she also never would have imagined opening a second shop in the same year. Yet Konczal hasn’t seen anything like the current demand for skates.
“There is nothing that compares to this year,” Konczal said. “This is completely unprecedented. I’ve lived through many decades of roller skating ups and downs, and there is nothing to compare it to.”
Roller and inline skating have both experienced a resurgence this year, as covered by The New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and many others. As people looked for activities they could do outside, it was only natural that many would turn to skating, just as others have taken up kayaking or mountain biking.
Nostalgia played a part, too, with many looking to return to a hobby they might have abandoned years ago. Social media has been influential as well, with Konzcal jokingly blaming skaters on TikTok for the reason so many skates are now backordered (some for a year or more).
Of course, that same demand also allowed them to open the new location. Konzcal’s son, Nicholas Connell, is the owner and operator of the Charlotte store. Connell has worked as a chef in several restaurants around town, but he was furloughed earlier this year. He’s no stranger to Charlotte’s skate scene, however, having skated throughout the Queen City for years. While the skate shop is a departure from his culinary career, it’s an idea that has lingered in the back of his mind for some time.
The new shop shares a lot of inventory with the store in Winston-Salem, but Connell has put his own spin on the new location with the addition of longboards and inline skates. You can also find plenty of helmets and protective gear, as well as wheels, bearings, toe stops and other accessories.
The first day the shop opened its doors, Connell said it had only about four pairs of skates in the window. They have built up their inventory considerably in the weeks since, though there are skates Connell wishes he could get his hands on now.
The response to the shop has been overwhelmingly positive, with people of all ages and skill levels coming in to buy skates.
“There’s a huge group of people who are revisiting it either from childhood or 20 years ago,” Connell said.
Some are derby skaters (the city’s Charlotte Roller Derby league boasts two teams, but practices and matches are on hiatus for now), but many are recreational skaters or inline skaters just looking to get out and skate around.
Connell notes that there are several groups of local skaters that skate on the greenways and along the Charlotte Rail Trail that runs just outside of the shop. Charlotte also boasts a decent number of park skaters who frequent places like OSO Skate Park, Connell said.
Since signing the lease in early November, Connell has been busy keeping the shop stocked with products while also learning more about what the local skating community is looking for. More than just a retail shop, he wants to help grow the skating community that’s been here for years, perhaps without the spotlight it deserves.
“It already exists here, it’s just a matter of exploding it and bringing it to the mainstream,” Connell said. “Now it’s evolving into let’s make this a thing. Let’s make Charlotte a skate city, you know?”
Want to lace up a pair yourself? Derby City Skates is open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday.
Derby City Skates
1425 Winnifred St., Suite 101
Instagram: @derbycityskatesclt
Curbside pickup available
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 9:00 AM.
