Halifax is getting a retro roller rink

Dig out the neon spandex, find your flared pants and prepare for big hair. When Upshaw's Roller Dome opens at 16 Dentith Road in Spryfield this summer, Halifax will be whisked back to '70s and '80s roller rink nostalgia.

"I'm putting a lot of thought into the atmosphere, the lighting and the sound," says owner and operator Shane Upshaw.

He decided to get into the business because his fiancee, Naomi Walker, had recently fallen in love with roller skating. "I went to buy her a pair of roller skates," he says. "But she had nowhere to go."

Upshaw says the roller dome will bring innocent fun into Halifax's entertainment scene. "There's nothing to do anymore that doesn't involve drinking if you want to go for a date night."

Skaters will be able to bring their own wheels or rent them on site, and the roller dome, located inside an old movie theatre, will be complete with a killer playlist and disco ball.

"We're trying to bring back the old-school retro with the looks, with a new 2022 twist," says Upshaw, who's new to the entrepreneur game. "As for the music, I'm basing it off old-school music, '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s jam skating music."

The rink will sell chips and chocolate bars and eventually upgrade to a full canteen with fryers. Upshaw plans to be open six days a week starting in June, with open skates, family skates and theme nights.