MONROE — After 61 years, one of Monroe’s most well-known venues is closed for good. The Roller Den, located on Monroe’s far east side, has been in business since the early 1960s, hosting weddings, birthdays, school field trips and roller-skating parties. By April 15, the entire building will be barren. 

By the time the COVID-19 pandemic reached Green County in early 2020, the business was already struggling and went up for sale. 

“That was it. That was the final nail in the coffin,” said Marvin Becker, brother to Roller Den owner Jim Becker. Jim Becker recently found a buyer for the building: The owners of Veracruz Mexican Market, a fixture in the city for more than a decade and currently located near Twining Park and the Badger State Trail on 14th Avenue. The transaction is expected to close later this month. 

Marvin Becker has helped his brother with the process of getting the items in the building ready for auction. Badger Corporation is handling the auction of the items. About 700 listings will be up, from skates to crock pots, chairs, laser tag equipment and a disco ball. There are also approximately 800 pairs of skates for sale: roller skates, roller blades, and children’s skates and bikes.

“We’re hoping a school or organization buys some of these as a bundle,” Marvin said.

Other items include a pool table with cues, arcade games like California Speed and air hockey, plus classic token games like Wheel of Fortune and Slam Away.

Slushie machines, beer tappers, soup serves, popcorn and nacho machines are available, as are commercial stoves from the kitchen, pitchers, cups, silverware and leftover prizes from the token counter. 

The auction is online only and can be found at https://bit.ly/3r3JrXi. Bidding is already live. 

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, interested buyers can come into the Roller Den, 1506 31st Avenue, to inspect the items for sale. The auction ends at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13, and removal is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 14. Anything not picked up April 14 will be discarded.

Jim Becker is just the third owner of the business in its 61-year run, buying the business in December 2009. “It’s still a heck of a nice rink,” Jim said, adding that of all the potential buyers of the building, none were interested in keeping it as a roller-skating rink.

Veracruz Mexican Market, owned by Santos Tinoco and Maribel Lobato, originated just off Monroe’s Square more than 13 years ago, where the market shared space with a restaurant the couple also owned. After closing the restaurant, the pair moved the market about five years ago to its current location on 14th Avenue next to the Badger State Trail and across the street from Twining Park. 

The store has regular patrons coming in an out, but the aisles are tight and there is little space to store inventory. Upgrading to a larger facility means space for wider aisles, a larger walk-in cooler for drinks like soda and beer, more product on the shelves and more storage. Perhaps also some more clientele, which means the market will be able to hire more help. Lobato said the market originally only need two people to run, but busier days have added to the need to adjust and grow. 

Moving to the far east side is also beneficial for area residents, which have lacked a grocery store on the east side of town since Sentry closed more than two decades ago. Just a few hundred yards south of 13th Street/Business 11, the site of the Roller Den is not off the beaten path. The market sells more than just prepackaged goods as well: There are enchiladas, prepared meats and salsas, pinatas, Chicharrones, candies and Jarritos to drink. 

Mirabel said they hoped to be moved into the new location by the end of summer — but definitely before winter. They still have to figure out how to arrange the marketplace inside, including how to include the wood floor of the roller rink that Mirabel called “beautiful”.