CLEVELAND — Cleveland’s skateboarding community is gearing up for a significant change.
Tri-Star Skateboards, which started in 2004 selling boards out of the back of a van, grew into a large store offering an indoor skatepark and, at one time, a memorabilia museum.
The owners plan to close in December.
The warehouse on Brook Park Road has housed a community that loves to get heart rates pumping.
"They'll come in and get me to watch their tricks, you know, that they just landed, or whatever,” said co-owner Shelby Snellenberger, co-owner of Tri-Star. “It's just cool. It's like I'm a little skate mom, and I like it."
Snellenberger and her husband, Sam, purchased the business from a friend in 2018.
“We made the investment so we could keep skateboarding alive in Cleveland,” she said. “Everybody's got their own individual styles, and you know they're all unique in their own ways… it's really cool.”
Jeremie Garcia quickly learned what makes Tri-Star unique.
“Oh, you got wheels too?” he said to Snellenberger as he worked on building a skateboard from the store’s donation box.
Garcia is in Cleveland by way of Tampa, Florida. He landed in Northeast Ohio just before Hurricane Milton struck.
"I mean you guys suffered a lot,” Snellenberger said to Garcia as he worked on his board.
Garcia responded, “My tattoo shop I’m at—it keeps getting water more and more by the day. It’s not receding at all."
Word of mouth brought him to Tri-Star.
Garcia said he first got interested in skateboarding after a friend gave him their old skateboard.
"It's something about skateboarding, you know; you will never stop once you start,” Garcia said.
Soon, hitting the ramps and rails will halt. Snellenberger said the decision to close wasn’t easy.
“We had a lot of roof damage, and a storm happened in January,” Snellenberger said. “We closed the shop for two months, reopened that in April, and just did any necessary repairs. This was all flooded. The roof came off, and all the HVAC units are damaged."
The skatepark didn’t open until August. Snellenberger said they don't own the building and are still waiting for problems to be fixed.
“It’s not sustainable,” Snellenberger said. “Our sales have dipped quite a bit and skateboarding—it's a niche.”
Customers who’ve come for purchases, lessons, and to show off their tricks feel a bit wiped out by the news.
“It’s pretty sad, man. This place has been around forever, had so many changes throughout the years,” said skateboarder Nick Gutowski. “And everyone loves coming here; it’s a local spot.”
Snellenberger is emotional, too. She thanked everyone who paid a visit and worked for the business.
“I'll see people coming in the door, and it's like, you tear up,” she said. “It's emotional.”
Snellenberger hopes someone will purchase the equipment and relocate the operation.
She said it’s just not something she and her husband are interested in doing despite their love of the sport and the people.
