Let the good times roll

Luther Bernstein hasn't laced up his roller skates in 16 years but that hasn't stopped him from keeping the wheels turning for generations of North Texans.

After more than half a century in the roller-skating business, 86-year-old Bernstein is preparing to open another rink in Farmers Branch. This comes after a career dedicated to all aspects of the sport from competitive skating to international coaching, rink development and skate manufacturing and distribution.

The effort reflects a lifelong determination that began when Bernstein was just an 11-year-old boy attending a sixth-grade skating party in Dallas.

At the time, he didn't know how to skate. After struggling through that first experience, he convinced his mother to take him back to the rink again and again. By the following school year, he had improved enough to win a trophy for being the best skater at his seventh-grade party.

Bernstein became a "rink rat," spending much of his childhood skating and eventually competing in both speed and artistic roller skating. He graduated from high school in Dallas before attending college in Arlington and later the University of Houston on a scholarship.

Following college, he began teaching skating, eventually traveling to Australia for a year to coach. During that time, he took four Australian skaters to a world competition in Spain. This was his first trip outside the United States.

After returning to Texas and teaching for several more years, Bernstein entered the rink business. With financial backing from two investors, he began developing skating facilities throughout the state. Between 1970 and 1984, Bernstein said he built nine skating rinks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and two in Austin.

Among them was Josey Skateland, which opened in June 1973 in Farmers Branch and operated for nearly three decades under his ownership before being sold. Another was Interskate in Lewisville, which opened in November 1981 and remains the anchor point for his business today.

Interskate has beaten the odds and survived even with the decline of rinks across the country. The building has undergone four renovations and an extensive remodeling, remaining a popular spot for local kid and families.

Berstein has developed his own line of roller skates, Epic Skates, which are sold through major retailers and online.

In 2022, Bernstein received a lifetime achievement award from the Roller Skating Association International in recognition of his contributions to the industry. Despite his accomplishments, Bernstein speaks about skating less as a business venture than as an activity capable of bringing people together.

"Roller skating just offers you so many opportunities to do so many different things, and it's a lifetime activity," he said. "It gives children of all ages and all backgrounds a place to go and participate and have fun.”

That belief helped motivate his latest project in Farmers Branch, where he also lives. Bernstein said it took approximately a year and a half to find a suitable property and a landlord willing to work with him on the development.

The skating rink business has become increasingly difficult as property values rise and large commercial spaces become more expensive to operate. 

At the sport’s peak in popularity, in the early 1980s, there were as many as 5,000 rinks operating in the country. Today that number is likely just over 1,000 with Texas leading the pack. Some rinks, Bernstein said, have closed because the land beneath them became more valuable for other uses.

Still, Bernstein sees room for skating facilities that offer quality experiences. He said three ingredients are essential to a successful rink: a good hardwood skating floor, comfortable rental skates and music supported by quality sound and lighting. Music, he said, provides the rhythm and atmosphere that make skating enjoyable. 

He last skated on his 70th birthday, retiring from the activity because he no longer wanted to risk falling. His personal skates still sit near his desk. Photos, plaques and newspaper clippings from throughout his career blanket the room from wall to wall. 

For those who know him personally, his continued momentum at 86 comes as little surprise.

Maryanne Pfeifer, Bernstein's neighbor and friend for nearly two decades, describes him as a man who approaches nearly everything with intense passion.

"Luther is a character. He is a one of a kind," Pfeifer said. "He doesn't do anything halfway. He gives it his all.”

She said Bernstein's commitment to his passions extends beyond business. Pfeifer recalled Bernstein's enthusiasm for pickleball, an activity he pursued regularly at Brookhaven Country Club near their Farmers Branch neighborhood.

That energy carries over into his home life with Jo Ann Honegger, his longtime partner and manager at Interskate.

Pfeifer described the pair as active neighbors who enjoy spending time outdoors, walking their dogs and staying busy with fun and travel. She also praised his willingness to lend a hand in their neighborhood.

“He's a good man. He would give anybody the shirt off his back,” she said. “He's a champion, and he's a champion to the neighbors too. He takes care of people.”

Among Bernstein’s regular traditions are annual trips to the State Fair of Texas and gatherings centered around Dallas Cowboys games. 

The next generation is already helping carry Bernstein's skating business forward. Dawson Dominguez, 26, whom Bernstein considers his grandson, has helped manage the Lewisville rink for the past four years and is expected to take an important role in operating the new Farmers Branch location. Bernstein said he has been part of Dominguez's life since birth, along with Honegger’s other grandchildren.

Pfeifer said she expects the new Farmers Branch rink to succeed

“Farmers Branch is the place to be right now, proximity-wise to everything from both airports to Interstate 635 and the tollway and all that good stuff,” Pfeifer said. “There's a need for this kind of entertainment and the chance to open right there on 635 at Marsh. Come on, that's wonderful.”

After decades of coaching, competing, building rinks and selling skates, Bernstein remains focused on the next project rather than dwelling on the past. He said opening a new rink came from a simple desire to continue fostering skating in the city where he lives.

His latest project, Interskate Dallas, will occupy approximately 35,000 square feet on the first floor of the former Freed's Furniture store in Farmers Branch, with the 11Max Indoor Fun Park operating upstairs.

Interskate Dallas is designed to include a full-size skating rink, a smaller beginner rink and a private party rink. The unusual arrangement, Bernstein said, required considerable creativity with the existing space. The structure presented challenges that would have discouraged many developers. Bernstein instead redesigned the layout three times, ultimately finding a way to incorporate these elements into a functional skating facility.

"What I'm doing hasn't been done in the skating business industry the way I'm doing it," Bernstein said. “I took a building that has over 20 pillars in it and devised a plan to skate around it and make it operational.”

These and other factors, including a previously unknown layer of rock beneath the construction site, have delayed the project. Original schematics pegged an April 2026 opening date. By mid fall, Interskate Dallas is still under construction and twice over-budget, though it has recently cleared major milestones. Bernstein hoped for a mid-November grand opening for the rink, but an exact date can not yet be confirmed at press time.

Despite any delays, the project continues to press forward. Bernstein may have retired his own skates, but he has no plans to retire from the business that has defined most of his life.

_{Local News Matters.}