The Church of 8 Wheels is reopening at 25% capacity this Saturday.
Andy L. via YelpThe Church of 8 Wheels has been resurrected.
San Francisco skating enthusiasts can once again boogie beneath the stained glass of the abandoned church-turned-roller disco beginning this Saturday. The Church of 8 Wheels will reopen at 25% capacity, which translates to 37 skaters in its 6,000-square-foot rink, according to David Miles Jr.
“I’m looking forward to seeing that joy on other people’s faces that we’re used to, but I am kind of anxious about it,” said Miles, who’s overseen outdoor roller disco events at Skatin’ Place in Golden Gate Park for decades, and has long been touted as the Godfather of Skate. “The last thing I want to see are the words ‘panic at the disco, coronavirus running wild’ in some headline. I want to be an example of how San Francisco does it right.”
As the only indoor skating rink in San Francisco, the Church of 8 Wheels doesn’t appear to fall under any specific category in the city’s reopening plan. It’s technically no longer a church, though places of worship have been permitted to reopen at a 25% capacity or up to 100 people. Late last week, indoor gyms and fitness centers were also given the green light to reopen at a reduced capacity.
However, further progress with the city’s reopening plan was stalled because of a 25% increase in coronavirus case rates, Mayor London Breed and Director of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax announced last Friday. New guidance would have expanded the capacity of indoor activities to 50%.
As far as he knows, Miles is following the correct guidelines.
Since the Church of 8 Wheels was forced to shut down in March, the family-run operation has been working to implement a series of safety measures, including a UV-C light air filtration system that “scrubs” the air as it circulates throughout the venue to fight potential airborne transmission of the coronavirus. They’ve also set up an online preregistration system for contact tracing purposes. Each skate session will be reduced to two hours instead of the usual three hours, followed by a 30-minute sanitization process on all surfaces. Rental skates will also be disinfected after use.
Upon entry, skaters will be required to wear masks and have their temperatures checked, and plexiglass barriers have been installed at registration, skate rental and coat check areas. Hand sanitizer and extra masks will also be readily available.
The repurposed roller rink faced the possibility of getting razed for redevelopment earlier this year – a threat that has loomed over the venue since Miles began leading skate lessons there in 2013.
“The situation is different now,” said Miles. “No one’s buying condominiums and rents in the city are dropping like crazy. I don’t think we’re ever going to leave or get to the point that we have to close. The church has a future. It might change buildings someday, but roller skating will continue. The church isn’t the building – it’s the people that make it.”
Miles plans to test out the filtration and UV-C light systems on Friday night before officially reopening the Church of 8 Wheels on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Last week, BART announced that it had equipped its train cars with similar UV-C air filtration systems for safer ventilation, replacing each train car’s air about every 70 seconds. Both pilot tests of the systems “showed promise” and would likely become the standard for the transit agency in the coming months.
Ahead of its October reopening, GOZU, a wagyu steakhouse in SoMa, similarly set up a UV-C air filtration system in the dining room. And this week, Atelier Crenn installed its own system, just as the three-Michelin-star restaurant reopened for indoor dining.
UV-C light has been shown to “quickly inactivate” the novel coronavirus, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The FDA reports that UV-C radiation has effectively been used for decades to reduce the spread of bacteria, though there is limited published data about the “wavelength, dose, and duration”of UV-C radiation required to inactivate the virus.
“We’re gonna start slow and we’ll grow depending on how things play out,” said Miles. “We want to give people an escape, and with the safety precautions we have, I don’t think we can get much better than this. We’re prepared to act accordingly and shut down if we have to, but we all have to learn how to deal with this and make things safe for everyone who takes part.”
The Church of 8 Wheels is at 554 Fillmore St. Admission is $15 and skate rentals are $5. For more information, visit their website.
