Aug. 27, 2020

When Rey Gonzales purchased Sioux Falls’ Sky Zone location in January, he and his family saw the franchise as an opportunity to try their hand at managing an entertainment business.

Little did they know that they would be making this transition in the midst of a global pandemic, forcing the location to shut down for two months.

However, even with all the complications, Gonzales has still managed to implement a membership program, add new paint and vinyl graphics to the facility interior and offer new attractions to guests during his first year.

“I think everybody who acquires a business that I work with, or even me personally, they don’t want to keep it the same,” Gonzales said. “They want to make it bigger or better or different, or put their own spin on it to some degree. But you don’t want to lose the context … of the success of the franchise model that we have in place. It’s been very successful.”

Gonzales is well-versed in the franchise model, as the owner of the Murphy Business locations in Sioux Falls and Rapid City who makes his primary living as a business broker. Gonzales heard Sky Zone was on the market last year when a friend of the previous owners referred them to Gonzales to help sell the business. Once he learned more about Sky Zone, Gonzales said he and his family started to think it would be a good opportunity for them to pursue. 

“The last few years, my wife and I, we’ve been talking about it might be time to buy a business or look to the business ownership ourselves outside of … Murphy Business that we already have,” he said.

“The more we talked about it, the more we said, ‘Gosh, you know, this might be something that we might be interested in.’ And so then when the time came, I think it was everything that presented itself, the fact that it’s an active business. It’s targeted to youths. I think it presents good opportunities for a lot of high school and college kids that we employ. And it was a fun business, and naturally it was a franchise; it’s part of the largest trampoline park franchise in the world.”

Just a few months into his ownership, the world was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic, throwing Gonzales into uncharted waters. He said the team members in place at the location, as well as the corporate office, helped him adapt to his new role and implement safety measures to keep guests and employees safe when the location reopened in May. 

“I think there are a lot of things in place that help the transition and (helped me) learn about the industry — not just the corporate franchise but also the team members we had in place and the fact that it’s been around for seven years before we took over,” he said “So I think the learning curve was shortened because of that.”

Gonzales has a three-year plan for adding new attractions. The inflatable Sky Tower was installed a couple of months ago and has been well received, he said. In late September or early October, the location is receiving a Little Ninja system that will provide an obstacle course aimed toward children age 12 or younger. Gonzales said his location is acting as the pilot program for the system and will be the first Sky Zone in the world to receive it. 

“In Sioux Falls, we don’t often get to be first in many things, so this is kind of exciting,” he said.

While Gonzales has experienced a tumultuous first eight months at Sky Zone, he said he’s grateful for the community support he has received and is excited to continue to provide entertainment to the Sioux Falls community during a trying time. 

“It’s entertainment. It’s a relief from all the virus activities and everything. It’s an election year, which I think (gets) people more amped up than usual. Parents have a lot on their plates. And so I think (with) the combination of those things, it’s just good to be able to offer a good, clean, fun and safe physical activity and make that available to the community. We really appreciate the folks that know and trust us and that come out to visit us each week.”