ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there was a place where date nights were cheap, and every night held still in the 70's.
"Our first night was February 1st, 1969," co-owner Bill Sahly said. He said after closing the doors to the Roller Garden last month, emotions have flared up here and there.
It was inevitable, as his family sorted through a half century's worth of items.
"Have we shut this off, have we done that-- have we transferred, it gets to be mechanical," Sahly said. "You've got the crystal ball that's been out there with couples going around for years...some parts of it...they're right there," Sahly said, tapping his heart.
Thanks to Auction Masters though, everything is up for grabs.
"It's interesting because I get to meet a lot of different people," Paul Kreuger said. Kreuger is one of the auction set up folks with the company. "And hear a lot of different stories and why one person one man's junk-- another man's treasure stuff like that. It's enjoyable for me, finding a home for all these treasures."
Out of all the auctions that Kreuger has helped set up, this one's special for him too.
"The Roller Garden," Kreuger said with a smile on his face. "I came here when I was a kid. Everything I see, it just brings back memories. Skating around to Savage Garden, playing all these video games. Just brings a lot back from walking through the doors."
From skates, to signs, to banners that used to adorn the walls. The disco ball is up for sale too.
The fun of it all is that this is not a sale. This is an auction.
"Everything starts at zero and it starts going up," Kreuger said. "Everybody says, you know, 'how much are the skates? I wanna buy the skates, I need them for my wall,' well we don't know! The bidders are the people that determine the price."
One item though, is non-negotiable and off limits. The big red Roller Garden sign that used to be out front -- that's reserved for the owner's kids.
"My brother and I grew up our whole lives out here so," Sahly's daughter Kim Swanson said with a quivering voice. "It's been so sentimental for us, as you can tell with the voice...so this is our way to have a piece of it forever you know? We're going to have our memories, but to have these signs--it's going to mean a lot and there were a lot of people that wanted them."
Sometimes "stuff" doesn't mean much. But occasionally, it can mean the world.
"We've put our blood, sweat and tears into this place," Swanson said.
Even with all of its bits and pieces sold and sent to who knows where, memories baked into what made Roller Garden, Roller Garden.
If you want to bid on any of the items from the Roller Garden, you can find the link the auction here. The auction closes next Wednesday at 6 p.m.