Lifelong dream becomes reality for local woman and husband
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July 14, 2025
GREEN BAY – As it’s often said, most businesses start because of a problem.
Such is the case for Sykora John and her fiancé, Freddie Ramirez, owners of Reya’s Rentals LLC in Green Bay – which John said rents out party-size tents, tables, chairs, a bounce house and wedding accessories.
“I have to partly thank Mother Nature for the beginnings of our business,” she said. “We’ve always liked to throw bigger birthday parties for my young daughter, Mareya [Ramirez], and on her second birthday, it rained really badly, and we needed more space. We had already rented out a park with a pavilion [for the party], but it didn’t have enough space to fit everyone [when it rained].”
John said on the day of that party two years ago, they couldn’t find anybody with a tent or a rental, so they bought one themselves.
“I was pretty much bawling that day,” she laughed. “I was searching all over [Facebook] Marketplace, and there was no tent option, so we just took the hit and bought a pretty expensive one.”
To possibly recoup some of the money they spent on the 20-by-20-foot tent, John said they posted on Facebook, saying it was available for rent if needed.
“We just threw out a random amount [for the rental], and pretty soon, we were booked every weekend,” she said. “After that, people started asking if we had tables and chairs, so we bought those as well. We also invested in another tent.”
The business, John said, continued to gradually grow.
“That’s where the bounce house came in,” she said. “We’d pay about $400 to rent a commercial-size bounce house for our daughter’s parties, and with her being only two at the time, we did the math and figured if we bought our own and started renting it out, it would pay itself off relatively soon.”
John said the bounce house is a six-in-one combo.
“It can come with an attachable pool, as well as hookups for the water slide,” she said.
Things didn’t stop there, John said.
As they started booking the tents for weddings, she said couples started asking about wedding accessories for rent.
“Because there was a need, we invested in a floral wedding backdrop,” she said. “We dabble in a little bit of everything right now and are slowly growing.”
Currently, John said they have the two tents, the commercial-size bounce house, the 8-by-8-foot floral wedding backdrop, more than 60 party chairs and 10 standard six-foot tables.
“Each of our tents can accommodate about 60 people,” she said.
As an LLC, John said Reya’s Rentals is also fully insured.
“We can provide proof of insurance upon request,” she said. “We worked with an attorney on that matter, and we thought it was a good idea to insure the bounce house – you just never know. We also set up the bounce house ourselves to make sure it’s properly done. We don’t want to rely on others outside of our business to set that up – that’s where potential problems could arise.”
John said her soon-to-be father-in-law and her brother also help set things up if needed.
“We set up and take down everything ourselves,” she said. “We’ve set up in Milwaukee, Oconto Falls, Sturgeon Bay, etc. It’s wherever anybody needs us. For anything 25 miles outside of Green Bay, we charge a $40 delivery fee, and with further locations, that fee can go a little bit higher. As of right now, we typically set up right around the Green Bay area.”
To organize the process, John said they usually set up the day before an event and take down the day after.
“We’ve been able to do that for the first two years,” she said. “It’s nice to set things up the day before, so we don’t have to rush around the day of, and then with taking down the day after, people don’t have to rush away after the party. We allow the full weekend at no additional cost, but I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be able to do that – especially the busier we get.”
Though Mother Nature helped John and Ramirez begin the business, she said it also hampers things in the colder months.
“Freddie and I both have full-time jobs outside of Reya’s Rentals,” John said. “The wedding backdrop is available during the winter. You never know for the future, but as of right now, we both have full-time jobs.”
John said she and Ramirez have a few other things up their sleeves for the future.
“We’re going to be adding a mobile slushie cart,” she said. “That won’t happen this summer, but we’ll start advertising that next spring. It can also be used for margaritas, and then we’ll have candy assortments for toppings as well.”
With more options and equipment possibly on the horizon, John said she’s happy Mother Nature lent a helping hand in starting their business.
“At the time, I wasn’t too happy about it, but looking back now, I can appreciate and laugh about it,” she said.
For more information on Reya’s Rentals LLC and pricing, visit its Facebook page.
