Flexin’ at Club Metro’s New(ish) Locale
As the new year begins, The Moorefield Group resolves to keep our focus on highlighting and supporting local businesses in JC. Club Metro is one such business. Over the past decade, they were a welcoming spot in a retail-sparse neighborhood that eventually became a central part of the development boom. Faced with an unfortunate and attendant rise in rent, Club Metro addressed this challenge with integrity and a firm focus on finding a way to keep prices down and their members happy.
In June of last year, Club Metro landed in a fabulous new facility. Their new home inside the Newport Center Tower (525 Washington Street) is, at 16,000 square foot, nearly double the size of their old location. Despite the size and some other notable upgrades, this family-owned business remains the best gym deal downtown.
“We’d been at our old location at 333 Washington St for ten years. That neighborhood [The Powerhouse Arts District] was a ghost town back then, before the development boom,” explains Nick Kobobjian, who owns Club Metro with his father and brother. “Eventually, we got priced out with our rent increases. We had three options. Raise our membership fees, close, or we could find a new space. After a lot of research and stops and starts, we found our new home. ”
Club Metro was and remains a gym for serious lifters. For only $39 a month, members can access a large, well-laid out floor dedicated to circuit training, free weights, and cross-fit style training. But the new facility can now accommodate classes in yoga, core training, Zumba, BollyX (a Zumba-style class set to a Bollywood soundtrack), and a room dedicated to Spinning. “We’re really excited about that,” says Nick. “Besides classes with live instructors, we will have virtual spin classes throughout the day, with an onscreen instructor leading you through the workout. We’ll be launching those in the beginning of the year. It gives so much flexibility because we can offer these any time of the day or night.”
Classes and other options come with a la carte pricing. “We have never raised our prices on our members. We value them and want them to not only be able to afford to work out, but also just to pay for what they actually use,” says Nick. For $59 a month, members have access to unlimited aerobics classes, and for $79 a month, can tack on unlimited spin classes as well.
Additional amenities include towel service, tanning, a boutique physical therapy service onsite (billed separately), and a golf simulator – a great way to wind down and relieve stress or perhaps increase it, depending on your relationship to your golf game! There’s also a juice bar with a nice selection of smoothies, protein shakes and crushed fruit bowls.
Thanks to the team at Club Metro for your determination to stay here in JC. See you at the gym!
525 Washington Blvd. 201-451-1911 http://clubmetrousa.com
Location Hours
Mon-Thu: 5am - 11pm
Fri: 5am - 9pm
Sat: 7am - 8pm
Sun: 7am - 5pm