REGINA -- A place that brought laughter and excitement to many families in Regina is closing its doors.
Owners Darwin and Sandy Holfeld announced over the weekend they have decided to permanently close Dino Bouncers.
"It’s like losing a part of the family," Darwin said. "It’s hard on the heart and it wasn’t the way we wanted to go out."
The family business operated in Regina for 19 years. It started out by renting bouncers and eventually set up its own location on Park St.
The COVID-19 pandemic slowed business to a halt due to the restrictions needed to operate.
Darwin said they tried to keep it going, but the loss of big events like Canada Day and Queen City Ex hurt the company hard.
"The only thing that helped us through those months was the government grant - 25 per cent by the landlord, 25 per cent by us and 50 per cent by the government - and that ended in the end of September, so October we were on our own. With the numbers that were coming, it wasn’t paying the rent," he said.
Since announcing its closure on Facebook on Sunday, hundreds of people have commented, sharing their sadness about the facility closing and thanking the Holfelds for their years of work.
"It chokes you up really, made a lot of great friends and seen a lot of great staff come through," Darwin said.
He encourages residents to continue supporting local businesses during the pandemic to avoid more suffering the same fate.
