Daily City Train Grand Opening Celebration
Daily City Train Grand Opening Celebration
Daily City Train and LOUD Underground Host Grand Opening Event This Saturday
Earlier this summer, Ellicottville celebrated the completion of its outdoor concrete skatepark, a project 4.5 years in the making. Spearheaded by a group of local citizens, their passion to bring more recreational opportunities to our area has been praised by skaters and non-skaters alike. Just take a quick trip to the New Car Dealers of WNY Ellicottville Skatepark and see for yourself. Located in Ellicottville’s Village Park, you’ll find that the sport is thriving. All ages, all abilities, all coming together. This is where friendships are made. And with this new activity now a fun option in our community, comes the need for skate equipment, apparel and service.
Enter Daily City Train. Setting up shop at 2 Bristol Lane (the former bowling alley next to Tim & Bonnie’s), DCT offers a store full of decks, trucks and wheels, protective gear, branded t-shirts and accessories. Owned and operated by longtime skater and Ellicottville native Chris Perks, DCT’s focus is on growing the scene and bringing the sport back to its roots.
“Growing up in a small town is very different today,” says Chris. “Having all these concrete parks going in, as well as some indoor parks has really opened up small town living, allowing more opportunities for skaters to have a place nearby and not have to travel so far just to skate. The ease of getting out of work or getting out of school and heading to your local skatepark is now the norm.”
SKATE RETAIL
Inside the shop, you’ll find skate brands including Anti-Hero, Baker, Birdhouse, Deathwish, Girl, GX1000, Krooked, Meow, Powell Peralta, Thrasher, Thunder, Spitfire and more. Plus a full line of 187 Killer Pads protective gear (knee, elbow, wrist guards and helmets), as well as hats, socks, belts, jewelry, wallets and stickers.
Chris was quick to note that the shop is committed to working with as many local vendors and small businesses as possible. For example: The first run of shop branded t-shirts were made at Studio 4 East in Allegany, shop branded stickers are being produced by Hot Wing Designs of Springville, custom handcrafted leather wallets by Grigs Leather Co. of Olean, and the shop is anxious to receive their first stock of DCT branded skate decks, manufactured by longtime friend Pete Scheira, owner of Jamestown Skate Products.
“My wife’s niece is in the jewelry business, and we’ve commissioned her to create skate-inspired necklaces made out of recycled bearings,” Chris said. “We’re excited to expand our offerings through local artisans and small businesses, and we invite those who think their products would be a good fit in our shop to contact us.”
The service area inside the shop is staffed with a knowledgeable skateboard technician who can assemble your new complete (deck, trucks and wheels purchased separately that need to be put together) or for simpler needs such as tightening or loosening of trucks, hardware replacement, grip tape, etc. DCT shop manager Jake Bellamy can help you choose the right setup based on your skate style and skill level.
“Jake’s in the know when it comes to skateboarding,” said Chris. “He’s a longtime skater with experience. He can help you with just about everything!”
INDOOR PARK
The retail space housed in the front section is only a piece of the puzzle. Walk beyond the racks of clothing and wall of skate decks until you come to a sliding barn-style door (outfitted with skate trucks and wheels for a handle) and you’ll find yourself surrounded by quarterpipes, pyramids and rails. DCT’s indoor skatepark invites all ages and skill levels to skate, learn and come together. The beginner friendly features are also fun and challenging for experienced skaters, as expressed by many who have already come through the DCT door.
“I’m lucky to have been able to recruit some of the guys that helped build Ellicottville’s outdoor park to come and build the indoor here,” said Chris. “Ferrari, Melon and Jared busted hump to get the park up and running in record time. They put in a lot of late nights (and screws!) and a lot of custom details including the DCT letter plaque made of pool tiles to tie into the bank-to-wallride with pool coping… and keep a lookout for the puzzle piece as you enter the park.”
Admission to DCT’s indoor park is $10 all day, and a lounge area complete with couches and TV streaming skate videos welcomes park users when they need a break.
Chris expressed his excitement to introduce membership options, skate lessons, and after-school programming in the near future. “We’re finalizing our membership and program details this week, and we’re looking forward to offering one-on-one coaching and group lessons soon. We’re also planning to offer skateboard rentals, as we’ve had a handful of requests already from visitors who, for example, traveled up here from out-of-state but didn’t want to pack their skateboard on a plane. Or for the kid that’s interested in trying skateboarding for the first time but mom or dad doesn’t want to invest in a complete right away.”
MOUNTAIN BIKES, TOO?
Yes, Daily City Train is a skateshop. But customers entering the 2 Bristol Lane location will also notice a line of mountain bikes, snowboards and bike/board apparel in the shop as well. That’s because the space also houses another business, Loud Underground. Previously located in the basement of Adventure Bound on Ellicottville’s main drag, Loud Underground owner Dee Dippel jumped at the opportunity to move ‘above ground’ when Chris was looking for a way to help fill the space.
“As the Parks manager at HoliMont, I’ve worked alongside Dee over the past couple summers at HoliMont’s Bike Park, where his team sets up their bike service trailer each weekend for mountain bikers,” said Chris. “DCT’s location is a really big space, and he was looking to move, so everything just lined up. Plus, it makes sense to team up. We both have a similar vision when it comes to pushing for action sports in our area. It just works!”
Loud Underground carries full suspension mountain bikes, gravel grinders, BMX and E-bikes for sale plus parts and accessories, and their service department can handle any bike repair or tune-up. Known as the area’s Kona, Specialized and Rocky Mountain dealer, Loud recently announced the addition of Santa Cruz, Juliana and Reserve to their fleet.
GRAND OPENING EVENT
This Saturday, August 19th, Daily City Train and Loud Underground invite everyone to help them celebrate their new space during a special ALL-DAY Grand Opening event, complete with skateboarding, biking, contests, prizes, raffles, giveaways and free food - including cake! The DCT Team and the Loud Crew have rallied together to make the celebration an exciting showcase of boards and bikes. All are welcome.
“We’ve organized some really fun contests and special park sessions throughout the day so that everyone that wants to, has a chance to skate or bike without feeling intimidated or overcrowded,” explained Chris. “We’ll kick everything off at noon and will keep it going all day and into the night!”
A Kids park session will run from 1:00-2:00pm, a Roller (Quad) Skate session and demo will run from 3:00-4:00pm followed by a number of skate contests, and Bike Power Hour will go from 6:00-7:00pm. Quad skating, which continues to grow in popularity, will have a strong presence at the Grand Opening, thanks to special guest Kid Ace, who will be on-site repping her business, Rustbelt Roller Skates.
“Ace has a really strong following in the roller skating community, and we’re excited to bring her to DCT to showcase how rad roller skating is,” said Chris.
Kid Ace, the creator of Yoga for Skaters, has over 12 years of experience in the fields of yoga, personal training, and health coaching. She’s taken these passions and combined them with the sport of roller skating to create a unique vibe that feels good, is good for you, and is attracting women, girls and boys of all ages. Her shop, Rustbelt Roller Skates, is based out of Jamestown Skate Products, Jamestown, NY. Follow @rustbelt_rollerskates and @kid_ace on IG, then come to the Grand Opening and meet the roller skating yoga queen herself… and maybe even find the perfect pair of skates for your feet!
Another big draw for Saturday’s Grand Opening event is the list of raffle items up for grabs. Daily City Train will give away a skateboard complete and a one-year membership to the DCT park. Loud Underground is ready to raffle off a brand new Kink Kurb BMX bike. And remember the Grand Opening event for Ellicottville’s outdoor skatepark that was held June 30th? Special guests from The Skatepark Project (aka Tony Hawk Foundation) signed a number of SK8EVL produced skatedecks, including Tony Hawk’s brother, Steve, and Mary Wilson herself. The DCT Team will be raffling off one of those decks as well!
“Raffle tickets for these items will only be available for purchase at the shop on the day of our Grand Opening party,” said Chris. “So it’s important that you come down and get your tickets for your chance to win! You don’t have to be present to win, but you have to be present to purchase your tickets to win. And we’re excited to announce that a portion of the proceeds from the raffles will be donated to Phase II construction of Ellicottville’s outdoor skatepark.”
The raffle drawing is expected to take place live on IG at 8:30pm, with the event ending at 9:00pm.
For additional information about Daily City Train and Loud Underground, follow them on IG: @dailycitytrain.skate @liveloundunderground.
