BounceU and KZAM close down in Farmingdale, citing coronavirus concerns
BounceU in Farmingdale sent a letter to customers saying "we do not want to take any chances" when it comes to reopening. Credit: Danielle Silverman
Two children recreation centers, BounceU and KZAM of Farmingdale, have closed their doors for good, citing COVID-19 concerns as the reasoning.
BounceU, an indoor bounce house known for hosting birthday parties, reached out to customers via email Thursday explaining its position.
“Due to the coronavirus, our owners have made the very difficult decision to close our Farmingdale location. We have been trying our best to make plans to open again in the future, but unfortunately, it did not seem possible,” said the letter. “With the situation of the coronavirus, we do not want to take any chances for our customers or employees to open again in the future.”
KZAM, an interactive event room utilized for children’s parties, also connected with its customers Thursday through a message posted on Facebook.
“Due to the COVID virus, KZAM will be closing its doors for good,” said the statement. “Even when we eventually would be able to open to the public again, the restrictions on social distancing we would have to follow will not be able to cover the overhead of the business.”
Joe Garcia, president of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce, was upset by these closures but not surprised.
“These are the first two of what I’m sad to say will be other businesses, due to absolutely no fault of their own, to close permanently,” says Garcia. “Frankly, this is the tip of the iceberg for Farmingdale and a lot of other areas as well.”
The COVID-19 quarantine is currently hitting local downtown business districts hard. However, Garcia is more worried about the future.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty of what a recovery is going to look like. We haven’t even hit phase one yet here on Long Island,” he says. “When things start to reopen, how long will it be until your customers come back? That question has yet to be answered.”
David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.
