BAM closes its doors due to COVID-19

Published 7:30 am Friday, August 14, 2020

TIFTON — Phil and Tina Moody, owners of BAM Family Fun Center, loved operating their fun, child-oriented business.

“It was good,” he said. “Tifton was real good to us. We loved it. We watched some of these kids grow up. Barring COVID-19, I would do it again.”

The play zone contained bouncy houses and blow-up slides for all age ranges, arcade games and toys. The Moodys made sure the latest kiddie earworm was playing on the speakers: “Baby Shark” was a frequent request.

Phil Moody announced BAM would be shutting down permanently due to the hardship put on operating it by COVID-19.

Moody said the decision to close has been hard.

“It hurt,” he said. “It was real painful.”

Moody said he opened BAM because there was a need for a safe, clean, controlled indoor play area for kids in the area. BAM hosted birthday parties, church parties, Christmas parties, in addition to opening the doors to groups from schools from throughout the area.

BAM even had a special night for autistic children when they could come and play.

“It cost them one dollar,” he said.

Moody said, aside from not being able to get enough emergency funding from the Paycheck Protection Program to cover one month’s bills, not knowing when the business would be allowed to reopen was a big part of why the doors have been shut permanently.

“If we had a date, a light at the end of the tunnel, that would be one thing,” he said. “I don’t have a definitive date. We don’t know when this is going to be over. When is it over? Is it over in November? March? Ever?”

He said the business takes seriously its responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of the kids.

“You can’t social distance a bunch of 4-year-olds,” he said. “Would you bring your child to a BAM or to a place like that right now? I probably wouldn’t bring my child. I don’t want a child sick, and I sure don’t want it to come from BAM. We’ve never had a child hurt here and we worked real, really hard to make sure that happened that way. We’re not going to do that.”

Moody said there are no plans to open another BAM; however, his Philgood Entertainment, BAM’s parent company, is still in the party-rental business.

Moody said he still has the popular mechanical bull and “Philgood Express” train ride available for festivals and will have bouncy-houses for birthday parties and other special events.