Several years ago, if you were asked to identify the strongest corner of the brick-and-mortar retail business, you might have had a few strong contenders.
Perhaps you’d say makeup stores. Those locations always seem to be teeming with eager shoppers, and its model allows makeup enthusiasts to try out all the products before buying them, which makes it more resistant to the online-only model.
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Maybe you’d say the best place to be was a discount apparel shop, like Ross or Marshalls.
These stores use the treasure hunt model, where no two locations carry the same inventory and beckon shoppers to come in more regularly in the hopes of finding unique items at low prices.
Or you could say it was something in the services industry, like a nail or hair salon.
For obvious reasons, customers always need to come in-person to procure these services.
Or you might say that the gym was the best brick-and-mortar business to run.
Gold’s Gym is closing multiple locations.
Image source: Getty Images
Gyms have had a wild ride in recent years
To be sure, several years ago, gyms were a good business to be in.
But that all changed with the onset of Covid.
In early 2020, most gyms across the nation were shuttered for at least some period of time.
Suddenly, nobody wanted to be surrounded by a bunch of strangers, breathing in their air and sweating all over shared equipment.
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What used to be considered a healthy activity was shunned overnight as a potential super-spreader event. And the gym business suffered tremendously.
As many consumers opted instead to work out on stationary bikes at home or invest in their own personal gym equipment, large corporations buckled under the weight of high operational costs and almost zero member visits.
Between 2020-2022, nearly one quarter of gym and fitness studios across the U.S. closed their doors permanently.
Popular fitness chain closing multiple branches
And just because some gym brands made it through Covid doesn’t mean they’re out of the woods yet.
Gyms must grapple with a lot of high costs to run a good business.
They often rent in high-cost areas to attract more foot traffic and capture more members.
They must runs a lot of equipment and heat or cool the facility to make working out comfortable, often incurring high electric bills. And, in some cases, they must keep the lights on 24/7 for those early birds and night owls.
But these costs are harder to justify now that many people have permanently shifted their workout habits.
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Some now just run outdoors. Some have their own garage or basement gyms at home. Some opt for different boutique fitness classes. And some actually still use those stationary bikes.
And now, multiple Gold’s Gym locations are closing down in El Paso, Texas.
Those are:
12040 Tierra Este Rd, El Paso, TX12261 Eastlake Blvd Building D, El Paso, TX
The two locations were both closed on April 30, 2025. On the same day, the gym’s owner and operator, RCJ2 Enterprises, LLC, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have made the difficult decision to close our Gold’s Gym locations in El Paso,” a statement on Instagram read.
“We are deeply grateful to have been a part of this community for so many years and sincerely thank each of you for your support, as well as the incredible team members who made up the Gold’s Gym family.”
The closures represent the last two remaining Gold’s Gym locations in the El Paso area.
