Downtown Rockford's Ground Floor Skateboards announces 'painful' decision to close
Ground Floor Skateboards is closing.
Calling the decision to close “painful,” owner Eric Neubauer announced on Facebook Saturday that his last day at 333 E. State St. in downtown Rockford will be Sunday, Feb. 4.
“I had to be brave enough to know when enough is enough, for my mental well-being,” Neubauer wrote. “It’s been 8 years of teaching during the day and then nights doing things for the shop, and I’ve never gotten paid once from the shop. All the profit went right back into the shop. Except now, there isn’t profit, and I’m paying to keep it open. I simply can’t do that anymore."
A Rockford Public Schools teacher, Neubauer opened Ground Floor Skateboards in 2016 with his late wife, architect and community activist Alicia Neubauer, who died in 2020 from breast cancer. They ran the shop together, promoted skateboarding throughout the region and worked with city officials to include a skatepark in plans to redesign Davis Park in downtown Rockford.
"These last few weeks in January will be it," Neubauer said. "Until then, everything will be 40% off your entire purchase. Please come stock up and help this painful decision go by a little easier.”
Jim Hagerty covers business, growth and development and other general news topics for the Rockford Register Star. Email him at jhagerty@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford's Ground Floor Skateboards announces closure
