FITNESS CHAIN MUSCLES INTO ABQ
Crunch to open Sat. in revamped former Hastings location
Aformerly empty retail storefront at Juan Tabo and Lomas NE is slated to host barbells and treadmills as part of the expansion of a national chain in New Mexico.
Nearly a year after announcing its entry into the Albuquerque market and following extensive tenant improvements, Crunch Fitness plans to open a 20,000-square-foot gym Saturday in a space formerly occupied by Hastings Entertainment.
The new Albuquerque location, in the Manzano Shopping Center, is owned and operated by Harman Fitness Group’s David and Curtis Harman, who jointly own and operate 40 other Crunch locations, including their first store in New Mexico in Las Cruces, which opened in early 2017.
Billed as a judgment-free gym for a diverse group of people seeking physical fitness, Crunch offers group classes, personal training, a full array of exercise equipment, cardio and dance classes as well as individual and small-group training programs.
More than 57 million people belong to a health club of some type, according to the most recent survey by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. Memberships are up 26 percent since 2009.
“With top-notch equipment, innovative classes and an incredibly low price point, Crunch will offer the Albuquerque community a unique way to stay fit and have fun doing it,” David Ved, a partner of the Harman Fitness Group, said in a statement.
On the company’s website, it lists a monthly payment starting at $9.95.
Crunch may be muscling into some other prime spaces around town. In a previous Journal interview, Michael Butler, managing partner for Lockehouse Retail Group, the commercial real estate firm representing Crunch Fitness, said the business was looking to add two or three more Albuquerque locations in the next few years.
The Allen Sigmon Group, the landlord’s broker, said the lease represented the first of five shuttered Hastings locations to find a new tenant. The company’s 2016 bankruptcy left vacant more than 100,000 square feet of retail space in Albuquerque.
Founded in 1968, Hastings Entertainment Inc., was a multimedia entertainment retailer that sold new and used books, videos, video games and CDs. The rise of digital-media providers such as Amazon.com and Spotify has roiled entertainment retailers, pushing chains like Blockbuster, Borders, and Tower Records out of business.