Entertainment Center report
Trampoline parks Getting Sales Jumping, By Karen Appold
From left to right, Kaitlin Clark, Damon Reid, Jacob Adams and Cristina Giron, Sky High Sports Nashville, Tenn., staff members. The center’s family night special is popular and allows guests to enjoy active fun with a meal kids love.
Like others interviewed, Alexandru Muresan, owner, Rush Athens, Athens, Ga., said pizza sells best. “It’s one of the main add-ons to birthday packages,” Muresan said. Pizza and other food options are only available for special events.
Derek Jett, general manager, Sky High Sports Nashville, in Tenn., said quick-service food items including fresh slices of pizza and warm, soft pretzels and nachos are top sellers. “Most parents are looking to grab a snack to hold their children over until their next full meal,” he said.
Café staffers have a full knowledge of menu ingredients so they can easily answer any questions parents may have regarding their children’s food allergies.
The center’s family night special is very popular and allows families to enjoy active fun with a meal that kids love, Jett said. Offered every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., a family of four can enjoy a large pizza, bottled water and jumping for $30.
Ashley McDonough, café manager, and Derek Jett, general manager, of Sky High Sports Nashville. Made- from-scratch pizza along with warm pretzels, churros and Dippin’ Dots are popular and inexpensive food choices for the center.
Jett said the park has listened to its customers, and plans to keep on serving what makes them happy. “Currently, we have a menu selection that fits the
Sky High general managers from around the United States attend an annual two-day conference that covers safety, new ideas and best practices. At Sky High Sports South Bay, a Reis & Irvy’s fro-style 9 CUBE, in which a robot serves frozen treats, was installed after guests requested frozen yogurt.
needs of on-the-go families as well as families who want to make it a full, family experience,” he said. “But if there’s a popular request, we’ll do our best to offer it.”
For example, although Dippin’ Dots is a popular choice, patrons were asking for frozen yogurt. “We not only added it to our menu, but did so in an extra awesome way,” Jett said. “We added a Reis & Irvy’s fro-style 9 CUBE, in which a robot serves the treat. It’s fun and interactive; our patrons love it.” Annually, the park sees approximately 100,000 participants, in addition to the 60,000 to 75,000 non-participants.
Raymond is also open to patrons’ suggestions and is always considering more healthful snack items. Santa Clara hosts more than 140,000 jumpers and nearly 25,000 non-jumpers per year.
Jett has found that oftentimes patrons won’t want to eat prior to their jump-time. Then, after jumping, they’re famished and in a rush to get home. Knowing this, the park provides items that customers can buy and take with them. “Pretty much all of our patrons need a thirst quencher while playing, so most of them take advantage of our sports drinks and beverage selec- tion,” he said.
Raymond noted that one hurdle in getting food to sell well is that patrons typically only stay for an hour or two, so it doesn’t always occur to them that they need a snack or meal. “Another challenge is to make people aware that they can sit down and have more than just a snack,” he said.
