Alaska News

Downtown skate shop honored by industry magazine

Downtown skate shop zAKs Boardroom has been named TransWorld Business' best new shop of 2010 by board sports industry retail representatives, according to TransWorld.net. Located on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage, zAKs Boardroom opened in 2008, followed soon thereafter by Phaze One Indoor Skate Park. Founder John "Zak" Kaercher died in a skating accident in June 2010, after which his friends, family members and employees rallied to keep both businesses open, according to a long profile of the store posted Monday on TransWorld.net.

Will Bond Ingram, a friend of Kaercher's who stepped in to take over research and development for the businesses after Kaercher's death last year, told TransWorld:

It was really rough here for a bit, but we stuck to our program -- Zak's program. We stayed open, hosted a First Friday local art event that week and had a huge Baker Boys demo that Zak coordinated for the Solstice Weekend. We had to scramble to pick up all the pieces and somehow pulled it all off. It was tough though, no doubt. Zak was the type of dude who kept everything in his head. He was the man with the plan and vision, so picking up where he left off was a mission and a half, but we are all as passionate as he was about the shop and boarding. Here we are over six months later, doing amazing.

Read more at TransWorld.net.

zAKs Boardroom

715 W. Fourth Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99501

(907) 272-6273

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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