Jan/Feb 2004
LOCKWOOD SKATING PALACEHouston TexasThe existence of Lockwood Skating Palace is a testament of what results from determination, perseverance and vision. The vision formed in the mind of Katherine Flake back in the early 1980s when she was regularly taking her three sons to area rinks. Even though they didn't have to travel a great distance to skate, they still did not have such entertainment outlets in their own neighborhood. Mrs. Flake decided it would be nice to open a rink of her own and closer to where her family resided. She set her sights on the building which had housed the local grocery store and was up for sale. A short time later, after expressing interest to the owners, she found the building her new possession. She was not deterred by those who believed her dream was unobtainable. “Everybody thought I was crazy, the City of Houston thought I was too. It was a fight, especially permits and things but I decided [opening a rink] was what I was going to do,” she said. “If it meant working 24/7, I was determined what I was going to have.” It was a family undertaking from day one and remains that today. Purchasing the building in 1982 was only the beginning and it would not be until 1984 that the rink would officially open. To get the building prepared, Mrs. Flake, along with her husband Andrew, her three sons, her sister and other relatives, had to tear out the storage freezers, coolers, and other fixtures found in most stores. It took them six months to clear out the building. The task was not an easy one considering the adults worked full time and the children were in school. That left only evenings and weekends for them to work on renovating. After they had removed the leftover store structures, they called in a company to put in their skate floor. They were told that various things still had to be removed and the floor surface leveled before a new one could be laid. The family spent another six months meeting those requirements. Once ready, Mrs. Flake chose to have a Canadian Maple (wood) floor laid and even though the cost was more than she wanted to pay, it was well worth it since the floor will last a lifetime. No matter how rough skaters can be, all that is required to maintain the floor, other than daily maintenance, is buffing and shining twice a year. After the floor was laid and miscellaneous things like the concession stand and skate rack were added, the Flakes felt they were ready to open. Approximately one week before their scheduled opening they were presented with another obstacle by City of Houston inspectors. COUNTLESS OBSTACLES Apparently, some had a desire not to see a black-owned rink in the city or if there was to be one, the owners would have to find a way to meet the stringent demands that were being placed upon them - demands other businesses and rinks did not have to meet. “If you went to an ordinary rink, you might see two commodes, but we had to have four...it was always something,” Mrs. Flake recalled. For every demand the City made, the new business owner had to pay for a permit in order to meet the demand. “If they said, ‘go jump over the building’, we had to go buy a permit to do so. That's how stupid things got,” she said. Even today, Lockwood has a double grease trap that serves no purpose, but it had to be installed to meet one of the many requirements the City set as a condition for the rink opening. The Flake's did not become discouraged in spite of the obstacles thrown in their way by the City. They persevered and, following in the strength and determination of Mrs. Flake, eventually saw their dream become reality at their grand opening in 1984. Children and adults were lined up all through the parking lot waiting to get in. OVERWHELMING SUCCESS The rink was such a success that it initially was open seven days a week, i.e., every evening and all day on Saturdays. That pace, however, was a bit much for Mrs. Flake who was still working full time as a nurse. She was unable to find a rink manager to run things the way she wanted, so she resigned from her job in order to manage her business full time. Even though she was a nurse/medical office manager for three decades, she worked harder in her own business than she ever did for her employer. Lockwood has outlived the rinks that the Flake's frequented years ago and Mrs. Flake credits God's blessings for success and longevity. Another reason her rink has been able to weather many storms, including the country's current economic crisis, is because her family owns Lockwood and does not have to worry about a mortgage note or threat of foreclosure. Additionally, the rink has a steady crowd of regulars, including many skaters who grew up at the rink and who now bring their own children. The two groups - parents and children - are brought together every week for the Old School Sunday skate, the rinks’ most popular session. “That's when parents and kids come and for a certain time we play just
old school music which the parents love....It’s a wonderful, family type
thing,” Mrs. Flake explained. Even though she does not care for today's
rap/hip hop music, she recognizes that is what the young people want to
hear, and so they are given a taste of what they like on Sunday night also.
“He was instrumental in everything, and he worked so hard. I was so happy when he decided he would work here full time,” his mother said. “There is always one person who can help you out 24/7 and that was David. Right now he takes care of everything.” David became Lockwood’s full time manager in 1998 at the age of 30 and after having served in the military and working other jobs. His love for what he does is shown through his desire to make sure rink customers are happy and satisfied. Mrs. Flake thinks this is one thing that separates Lockwood from other rinks - the way they run things and the customer care they show. One proof of this is in the way their birthday parties are handled. They are made affordable for all, whether parents are on welfare or financially well off. “We don't worry about the ones with money, we put one price where poor people can afford it...The poor kids have just as much right to have a party as the ones with money,” she said. The rink's parties are so popular that there are as many as 14 every Saturday. News of the parties has spread from long time customers telling their friends who schedule events and then tell their friends. Another feature of the rink that is appealing to children and parents is “Kiddie City,” a separate skate floor just for children and toddlers. Mrs. Flake considers the addition of the floor to be the most significant improvement that has been made at Lockwood. She was inspired with the idea and is very proud of it. “It worked out just beautifully,” she said. “You would be surprised how little kids just want to jump on the floor, so the mothers like the idea that they have a floor of their own.” For two decades, children and adults alike have enjoyed themselves at Lockwood Skating Palace and the Flake's plan to show their appreciation to their faithful customers at their 20 year anniversary celebration to be held later this year. Q&A WITH MRS. FLAKE Q. What tips or advice do you have for people interested in opening
a rink?
A lot of the young people became interested in wanting to open a skating rink but there’s one who really worked hard, they found a building but found it cost more than they wanted. For us, it’s not easy to get loans, they could have opened if they would have had the backing or where they could go to a bank and get a loan but it doesn’t come that easy. We were lucky in that we were with one bank which looked at us as a number and a color and a councilman friend of ours, sent us to his bank and we talked to the president and in 10 minutes we had a loan. A lot of times, it’s all in who you know because you bank with someone 20 years you figure you go to that bank, get your loan officer and go with it. It didn’t work that way for us, we thought since we had been there so long we wouldn’t have any problems, but we did. Like I said, the councilman...he sent us to his bank and that’s why I’m loyal to that bank to this day. There are closer, more convenient banks to us but I never will forget him telling us we’re gonna make it and he was gonna trust us with that loan. We paid him off in no time and after that, that loan officer would come to our rink wanting to know what we needed, were we ready for another loan, etc. - it was nice, so we’re very loyal to that bank to this day. Q. Other obstacles that might be faced..permits?
He said we’re gonna take care of that....They were just determined they weren’t gonna let us open this rink... it wasn’t easy - they gave us a hard time. I don’t care if it was a permit for the plumbing, or you should have a permit for everything - even putting our signs up, you had to have a permit for that. That was the hardest part, dealing with them, dealing with the water company, it was just a little of everything. Speaking of obstacles, we had so many in our way.... I think even my son got so frustrated, he was young and he said ‘they just don’t want us to open.’ I didn’t tell him, but I felt that way too. They just - every time we figured ‘this is it’..... We would correct that, then they would find something else, so after all the hassling, we finally made it. We corrected everything they would mention, every time we had to go get another permit which we paid for. Q. This was the city of Houston requiring all of this?
Lockwood Skating Palace
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