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Shell We Bounce expanding near Lewes

Area’s only trampoline park expecting a July opening
February 13, 2017

Story Location:
Route 9
Lewes, DE 19958
United States

Rehoboth’s Shell We Bounce is moving and expanding, and owners Jim and Julie Derrick say they’re excited – but for different reasons.

“It’s been a nice business to own, but this new location will reach a much bigger demographic,” said Julie. “We felt limited in our old space.”

Jim, on the other hand, is clearly looking forward to the first adult dodgeball game he will be able to organize. The new Shell We Bounce will be the Cape Region’s only trampoline park, and said Jim, there will be two trampoline-floored dodgeball courts.

“It will be amazing,” he said, with a boy’s mischievous smile, half joking. “You can call me the dodgeball master.”

The Derricks opened Shell We Bounce three years ago in the old Gold’s Gym in Rehoboth Beach Plaza off the stretch of Route 1 known as the Forgotten Mile.

Julie said the proposed Beach Walk spurred the move. She said they knew the project – a redevelopment of 7.75 acres of land by property owner Ocean Bay Mart LLC that includes the former gym space – was a possibility when they signed the lease. Having their own space will take away some of the uncertainties, she said.

The new location is under construction on a nearly 3-acre lot off Route 9, about half a mile west of the Five Points intersection in Lewes.

To date, there’s been a lot of earth moving in preparation for the foundation, but when completed the building will be 26,600 square feet, and said Jim, half of that space will be trampoline-related. He said there will be dodgeball courts, a large trampoline area for general use, basketball hoops with trampolines, a foam pit area, and an area with a rotating arm where customers try to jump over it.

There may even be a ninja warrior station, he said.

Julie said one of the issues with the current location is the age and size limitations of the bounce houses. “Teenagers and adults want to be able to bounce too,” she said smiling, looking over at Jim.

The new location is convenient for a large portion of the business’ current customers, said Julie, pointing to one of the apartment complexes on the backside of the property. A little girl, who comes almost every day lives over there and she’ll be able to walk now, she said.

“It’s amazing we did so well where we were located,” she said. “We’re so excited to be close to the locals. Our golden months are January, February and March, which means it’s truly locals who are using this place. We’re really pumped.”

Julie said the new location will have a couple of the small inflatable bounce houses for younger kids who are too small for the trampoline areas. “We’ll be able to include all ages,” she said. “There will be no age restrictions.”

The new location will have a full arcade area, and there will be more food options. Customers will be able to sit down and have lunch or dinner, said Julie, describing a pizza and burgers menu.

Business opportunity and personal pleasure aside, the Derricks do agree on one thing – bouncing on bounce houses or trampolines is good exercise.

Using their three kids as examples, Julie said, when Shell We Bounce first opened, their kids might have been able to play for an hour. Now, she continued, it’s all day.

Jim points to a NASA study done a few years ago that said jumping on a trampoline is a more effective exercise than jogging. “It tricks kids into getting into shape,” he said.

The Derricks said they will be closing the original Shell We Bounce when the new location opens, which is expected to be sometime in July.

For more information go to shellwebounce.com or call 302-727-5416.

 

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