A Lewiston trampoline park was shut down by the city Thursday afternoon. Submitted photo
LEWISTON — Funz Trampoline Park on East Avenue was shuttered by the city Thursday afternoon and deemed “unfit for human occupancy or use.”
A fire official said numerous code and fire safety violations were found during an inspection. About 2:30 p.m., the business was ordered to close, although remaining customers were allowed to finish the recreation they paid for.
By 3 p.m., several people had shown up only to find the doors locked and the condemned sign prominently displayed on the window. Several people posted on Facebook to report the closure.
“So much for William’s birthday party that we prepaid for,” wrote one local woman.
“Wish I could say I was surprised,” wrote another.
In response, the business put out a short message on social media, advising they expect to be open again within a day.
“We are currently resolving a fire alarm issue,” according to the post. “We will solve this before tomorrow morning and be back and running by regular business hours. We have not been condemned.”
That post was removed a short time later.
About 4:30 p.m., a Funz employee scraped the city condemnation notice off the window and said the business had been given the go-ahead to reopen.
Attempts to reach management later Thursday were unsuccessful. Shortly after 7 p.m., the business posted another message on Facebook, similar to the first.
“Hi everyone,” the post states, “there’s a fire alarm issue and we’re working with the town to get it resolved. We are not shut down for good and gift cards do not expire. Sorry for any inconvenience and thank you!”
Nearly 200 people left comments on the thread, some with complaints about the business, others trying to determine if their gift cards will be honored.
The business opened in December 2015, at the time operating as Aero Air Park. In the winter of 2019, the business underwent an expansion that grew the facility from 15,000 square feet to just over 40,000. The name of the business was changed to Funz after owner Jun “Tom” Zhang took on ownership.
The expansion added a ropes course, Velcro wall, rock climbing wall, bumper balls and zip line for those 46 inches and taller, a teens-only section for practicing Parkour (wild jumps and tricks), a large section for the under-10 crowd with multilevel slides and a ball pit, and an all-ages ninja course, foam pit, basketball area and main trampoline court. The capacity of the business at the time rose from 80 to 200 children.
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