MILWAUKEE — It's a place where a kid can truly just be a kid. But after nearly a decade of providing a fun and positive place for Milwaukee families to enjoy, Bounce Milwaukee owner Becky Cooper says it'll be closing its doors for good this summer.
"There were a lot of tears," said Cooper.
According to Cooper, when she was looking to renew her lease for Bounce Milwaukeeto stay in the building, the landlord decided to raise both the rent and the security deposit.
"We've been in negotiations with our landlord for the last nine months," said Cooper. "They'd like to raise our rent by 50%, they went to increase our security deposit from $2,600 to almost $200,000. Those aren't conditions we can work with."
Heather Littrell, who had just booked her son's birthday party for Thursday at Bounce Milwaukee, located near South 5th Court and West Rosedale Avenue, says she's heartbroken to see it close
"It's really sad to hear. It's the coolest facility that I've seen in quite some time. We can come here as parents and feel safe, know our kids are safe, and let them roam free," said Littrell.
"We are going to miss having this here. It's a good space for kids to be indoors and to play and to just be kids and not be linked to an electronic device," said Meghan Ariotti.
Now she is preparing to say goodbye to the place she's spent the last nine years getting to know the community.
"A lot of these families, their kids have come up here. They've had babies who are now eight or nine years old having their parties," said Cooper. "We will miss them so much."
Cooper is looking forward to her next adventure.
"We have done so much to be more than just a business and be a real part of Milwaukee. We're going to continue doing the work that we've done, just in a different form," said Cooper.
Bounce Milwaukee's last day of operation will be on Aug. 31.
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