The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘If they fail, then I have nothing’
Small, family-owned gyms seek to reopen when state lifts restrictions
MIDDLETOWN — Father and daughter owners of two area gyms are sounding the alarm for small businesses struggling to survive during the coronavirus pandemic as the state readies to phase in the reopening of a limited number of industries May 20.
Gov. Ned Lamont and members of the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group this week released guidelines for merchants, restaurants, hair salons, zoos, museums and business offices to follow once they are allowed to partially open during the coronavirus pandemic.
But Bob Hurd, 58, owner of Snap Fitness in Portland, at 336 Marlborough St., said he’s about to close for good unless the state grants him the ability to resume operations. His daughter Taylor Arrigoni, 29, owns GoToFitness Ultimate Training Center at 1385 Newfield St., Middletown.
“I want other businesses to say ‘this is the end’” (of what they can tolerate), said Hurd, who recently purchased a $1,000 disinfecting machine for the gyms and had planned to take customers’ temperatures every time they enter. He also is ready to have staff clean machines every time one is vacated.
“We’re going to go above and beyond to accommodate social distancing,” said Hurd, who was gravely injured during a July 2015 cycling crash when a car turned directly into his path.
The impact sent him face-first into the vehicle. His jaw was broken in five places and he needed 13 hours of surgery and a tracheotomy to breathe. Hurd, who at the time was in the best shape of his life, was so injured his face had to be entirely reconstructed. It took years for him to regain his mobility, he said.
“My daughter has put her heart and soul into this business. We’re being told what we can and cannot do, but we’re suffering. We’ve put a ton of money into this thing,” he said.
Both said their top priority is ensuring their clients and families are safe, but the enormous financial pressures they face on a daily basis have flung them into a fight for survival in the midst of a pandemic.
Closings due to the COVID-19 outbreak have
prompted 50 percent of Arrigoni’s and Hurd’s clients to stop paying their membership fees between the two facilities.
Unlike other large fitness chains, Snap To and GoToFitness are franchises. Most of their income comes from monthly charges, classes and personal training sessions. Neither holds clients to contracts.
“We cater to people. If you like what we have, you stay. We don’t lock you in,” Hurd said. “In my right mind, I cannot say I’m going to take money just because I’m not a corporate-owned facility.”
Despite financial hardships, Hurd and Arrigoni insist on fully paying their staff of 10, three of whom are full-time workers.
They did apply for PPP loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration. A month after they filed, Hurd followed up. He had not been alerted that the paperwork was missing a document.
After watching Lamont’s daily press conferences for the past two months, Hurd originally hoped to open his doors May 1, but soon realized that was not the case.
“The bottom line is, we need to open. We’re a very, very clean fitness facility. We go over and above,” said Hurd. “We’re very sympathetic to people who have suffered and died … but also we need to survive.”
Gov. Ned Lamont has said that driving schools, the state Department of Motor Vehicles and gyms are being considered as part of the second phase of openings.
“If we have to wait until June 20, that’s not going to work. I can’t afford to pay rent, lights, utilities, cable. I’m getting more and more frustrated.”
The summer months are already slow for gyms, when many pursue outdoor activities. Hurd also worries that a second wave of COVID-19 or influenza could hit Connecticut in the fall.
“Small businesses with five to 10 employees are not going to be able to do it,” said Hurd, who has been a small business owner since 1985. He also runs a construction business, an industry that is also under duress due to the pandemic.
“This is her livelihood. She’s just getting thrown to the wolves,” Hurd said of his daughter.
At GoToFitness, clients often become like family. “It’s extremely heartwarming to see the amount of support. It’s been a whirlwind, and now confusion and anxiety have set in about what’s going to happen,” Arrigoni said.
Since closing, she has received countless emails, calls and messages from customers who insist they be charged monthly and maintenance fees to help support the endeavor. “Then May hit, and we didn’t feel right taking the money,” she said.
Her father has been working overtime in order to pay her staff out of his pocket.
Circumstances have taken a toll on Arrigoni, she admitted. “Yes, it’s causing economic depression, but not leaving your house is causing serious mental health issues, as well.”
Arrigoni is experiencing similar malaise: She is tired every day and forces herself to show up to work to brainstorm on what’s ahead. “I don’t see the people I work with and love anymore. It’s lonely. There’s nothing we can do. It’s depressing.”
She said she feels fitness centers such as theirs are essential to people’s wellbeing. “We are people that provide for the people of Connecticut. Small familyowned businesses are what make towns what they are,” Arrigoni said. “We’re very much involved in the community — we put ourselves out there.”
“My mind runs all day long trying to think about the business and how to make it better. We need everything (back) in our control,” Hurd said. “I left my career for this because it’s my life. If they fail, then I have nothing.”
For information on Snap Fitness Portland, visit snapfitness.com or the Facebook page. To learn more about GoToFitness, see gtfultimatetraining.com or its Facebook account.