Ridin’ High, the tiny, distinctive Burlington skate shop that has adorned the top of Battery Street in since 2003, will soon close.
Owner John Van Hazinga and his colorful hut at the corner of Battery and Pearl streets have overcome much during their run as a fixture of the city’s skate scene and urban streetscape. “Big John,” a thrill-seeker who bombed down hills on his longboard while making a point to always wear a helmet, was nearly killed in a 2007 crash that left him in a coma. In 2019, he was federally indicted for dealing weed out of the business, only to be released from prison because health conditions related to his earlier brush with death left him especially vulnerable to COVID-19.
But Van Hazinga, 47, told Seven Days that he has been living on a futon in the basement of the shop, which does not have a shower and is not equipped to be a residential space. That didn’t sit well with his longtime landlord, Don Harrington, according to Van Hazinga. He has agreed to vacate the building by the end of October.
“We’ve gone through a long relationship,” Van Hazinga said. “He just doesn’t want me living in his building.”
Harrington declined to discuss the situation, other than to note the basement “is not a living space.”
“All good things have to come to an end,” Harrington said.
Van Hazinga said he hopes to relocate the business to Montgomery Center, where he also plans to live. He’s still hammering out locations for both.
The shop will remain open through October. Lettering scrawled last week on the eastern side of the building — above a concrete quarterpipe — advertised a storewide sale.
Harrington declined to say whether he has plans to redevelop the site.
