Franchise Talk

Party Center’s New Owners Bounce With Economy

October 15th, 2008 | Author: Jack

Joseph Salmeri’s new business venture doesn’t exactly have him jumping for joy.

But it’s having that effect on his customers.

The 56-year-old Sacramentan recently became the somewhat reluctant owner of a “bounce house” – a kids’ party center in Rancho Cordova.

He and his brother, Rick, own the commercial building where their new business is located. A few months ago, one of their tenants – a franchisee for a national bounce house chain called Pump It Up – canceled its lease in a dispute over fees, leaving the Salmeris with a 12,000-square-foot vacancy.

“We went to every bounce house in the area to see if they’d expand into our place,” he says. The response? “No takers. No takers at all.”

They had no better luck bringing in other kinds of tenants. So, Joseph says, “we made a business decision.”

They spent $50,000 to buy new inflatable jumping equipment, spent another $30,000 fixing up the place, then last month opened Bounce Party USA.

Salmeri, who retired from running his machine shop business a few years ago, says he’d rather be traveling, scuba diving and golfing than working 40 hours a week launching a new business.

But he’s philosophical about his unplanned return to the work force.

“In this economy,” he says, “you have to roll with the punches.”