Gym owners across North Jersey have taken a collective sigh of relief: after being closed for nearly six months, fitness centers can finally reopen next week.
Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday said gyms could reopen at 25% capacity under certain restrictions beginning Sept. 1. The news received mixed reactions from gym owners, as some said restrictions are too limiting. However, those who run the gyms say they are eager to get their members back in their doors, even if under strict guidelines.
“We’re super excited — finally,” said Fara McNeil, owner of CKO Kickboxing in Allendale. “It’s been a long haul of just waiting and waiting.”
To reopen, gyms must limit capacity to 25% and mandate masks indoors at all times. The facilities must keep logs of members and staff for contact tracing purposes, should someone inside the gym test positive for COVID-19. They must also follow some expected new protocols, like social distancing and extra cleaning.
While some gym owners call the limits too strict, others said it is a fair price to pay to reopen and ensure a safe environment indoors.
“We’re prepared. We understand that the capacity will be restricted to 25%, and that’s absolutely fine,” said Leslie Adelman Banks, managing partner at HackensackUMC Fitness & Wellness center in Maywood. “We have the best ability to contact trace. Our facilities are already set up for 6 feet of distance.”
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In recent months, the gym has spent thousands of dollars preparing for an eventual reopen, Adelman Banks said. The facility has installed hand sanitizing stations, and invested in deep cleanings. Operators purchased electrostatic sprayers to sanitize equipment, and put up signs alerting guests of new protocols.
The gym will also create new roles, such as health guards at entrances to monitor flow and screen members, as well as ambassadors who will be spread across the gym floor to make sure people wear masks and that equipment is wiped down after every use.
The Bergen County gym is one of nine Fitness & Wellness locations in the state. The network also manages a location in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, which reopened in June.
“We can do this safely,” said Adelman Banks.”We already have a facility open down in Pennsylvania … without incident. Our members came back and they’re very happy.”
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In New Jersey, gyms were ordered shut in March to curb the spread of COVID-19. In July, state officials said gyms could begin offering individualized, appointment-only training sessions.
Adelman Banks said gym operators across the state have banded together in recent months, through the New Jersey Fitness Alliance, as well as by meeting with state officials to discuss the industry’s reopening.
“The operators have worked very closely together. They all understand the importance of being safe and we’ve all been sharing the same message — that ultimately we should see good things come out of [reopening the industry],” Adelman Banks said. “And I am hoping our communities understand that we are here for them and we want to help them be healthy. We’re part of the solution.”
Changes in the fitness industry
Although gym owners are eager to reopen, some predict restrictions could force gym customers to abandon large facilities in favor of smaller venues with fewer people. Marc Tauriello, owner of Extreme Gym in Nutley, expects to see a shift in the fitness industry across the state.
“I don’t foresee how many of the larger chain gyms are going to do this with the limited capacity,” Tauriello said. “Right now in New York there’s people literally waiting outside of their gyms to get in. So, I don’t foresee big franchise gyms faring well in this. The smaller, local gyms are the ones that are going to be able to handle it at this point — so I think there’s going to be a shift in the fitness industry.”
Others, like Tom Trilivas, who runs Top Shelf Fitness in Morris County, question the safety of having gym members wear masks when working out vigorously.
“That’s my main concern — what kind of liability does that open up, as a gym owner?” Trilivas said. “Right now, I believe this has gone on way too long. This is beyond where it should be. We should have been opened up two months ago.”
However, some gyms, like HUMC Fitness & Wellness in Maywood, are preparing to launch videos for members to show them how to work out safely while wearing a mask. In their Pennsylvania location, gym customers have become accustomed to working out with masks, with some bringing as many as three disposable masks to the gym as backup for when one becomes sweaty, Adelman Banks said.
The pandemic has hit the gym industry especially hard. Closed gyms meant owners lost much-needed monthly membership dues, while still having to pay rent. And to prepare for a reopening in the midst of a pandemic, they have spent thousands to reimagine their businesses. Some gyms and fitness centers have moved their workouts outdoors.
A number of gym owners banded together to call on Murphy, presenting their own health guidelines to show state officials they were ready to reopen. Several chose to open in defiance, including Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, which has been at the center of a public spat between local and state officials. Others, like Trilivas, have gotten creative to stay in business.
In July, Trilivas said he began running his business as a personal membership association, or PMA, until last week, when local authorities ordered his business shut and fined him for being in violation of the state’s executive orders. On Thursday, he will argue to reopen as a PMA in municipal court. Other gyms in the state and nationally have followed a similar model in an attempt to stay in business during the prolonged shutdowns, he said.
The uncertainty has forced some local operators, like The Gym in Montvale, to permanently close its doors so its owner can instead focus on his remaining location in Englewood. On a national scale, some gym chains, like 24 Hour Fitness and Golds Gym, have filed for bankruptcy in the wake of financial losses from the pandemic. Gyms that have survived the shutdown will now likely enter a saturated market, gym owners have predicted.
Even now, as New Jersey gyms begin their path toward reopening, owners still face an uphill battle as some members may not feel comfortable working out indoors. That would pose a new hurdle for gym owners, since fewer members means less revenue, while original overhead costs like rent and equipment leases remain. And with new expenses to enforce safety guidelines — some amounting to thousands of dollars in additional costs per month — some gym owners have said they may have to raise membership dues.
Gym operators, like McNeil and Adelman Banks, will now focus their energy on preparing for a September reopening.
McNeil plans on operating at less than 25% capacity when she first reopens indoors to ensure she can easily abide by the state’s new guidelines. Her workforce also shrank, with only six or seven of her usual 11 trainers so far committing to returning to work.
Adelman Banks, who runs a much larger operation, has to begin contacting the 1,300 employees that her business let go back in March.
“We’re looking at the logistics now, because we need to open up safely and we’ve got to be there for everybody,” Adelman Banks said. “Whether we open on the 1st or shortly thereafter, we will figure it out.”
But not all gyms will reopen next month. Some, like King’s Court Health & Sports Club in Lyndhurst, told members that it will keep its doors shut, citing the restrictions set in place on the industry. “The restrictions placed upon all health clubs has made it economically impossible to operate,” the gym wrote on social media.
Melanie Anzidei is the retail reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news about store openings and closings in North Jersey’s biggest malls, shopping centers and downtowns, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: anzidei@northjersey.com
Twitter: @melanieanzidei
