West Seattle Health Club: Reopening Tuesday, says new manager

Tuesday (November 4th) is now set as the date the former West Seattle (Athletic) Club will reopen as West Seattle Health Club, according to Dan Lehr, who is managing WSHC for property owner John Pietromonaco. He also tells WSB that a “simple placeholder website” is up at westseattlehc.com. Another thing Lehr mentioned that isn’t on that website yet: “I should also have all payroll records as well as membership information sometime Tuesday so we can get a hold of everyone. … Prices will be the same as before and we will extend membership expiration dates for people that have paid-in-full memberships and not bill monthly members for the days we were closed.” If you want to contact them for more information, the “placeholder website” includes an e-mail-contact form.

This is the tenth day the club at 2629 SW Andover has been closed; its former ownership announced the club would close Thursday, October 23, and Friday, October 24, reopening Saturday, October 25th, but instead of reopening, the former ownership turned it over to the property owner to whom they would have had to have paid $1.1 million in back rent and other charges in order to keep it. A message in the name of former owner Sam Adams was sent to a membership mailing list last Wednesday; it included an apology and a denial of the landlord’s allegations of “sabotage” in the moving-out process.

Alki November 1, 2014 (4:42 pm)

Thanks WSB for keeping us updated. Most appreciated.

ChrisBean November 1, 2014 (4:44 pm)

Great news! I appreciate that they will keep the dues the same (at least for now). I understand that this is a separate business from the “old club”, so for them to say that they would honor the pricing and also extend the dates for those that paid in full is a great way to start things off.

clark5080 November 1, 2014 (5:02 pm)

Will have to keep an eye on this.

kumalavula November 1, 2014 (5:15 pm)

i was working out today at anytime fitness, my normal gym. i noticed an awful lot of foot traffic from people coming in to check out the place. coincidence with the closing (read: fiasco) of all-star? who knows. all i can say is that anytime is clean, open whenever you want, reasonably priced and has up to date machines, in case anyone is wondering what the competition is doing right.

employee November 1, 2014 (5:26 pm)

To the lawyers who read this, in your opinion do you feel it would be easier and faster to file an L&I complaint about our paychecks that we did not get a few days ago, or take on an actual lawyer? Also at the same time filing a complaint with the A.G.

Danielle November 1, 2014 (5:48 pm)

Sad. I remember when this club was brand new. Such a beautiful facility. Haven’t had a membership in years but I hope it can be restored back to that nice condition. It was such a pleasure to spend time in!

Larry November 1, 2014 (6:20 pm)

WSB, thank you for your consistant updates on this! Dan Lehr, thank you for your transparency and diligence! Keep up the great work and communications. Also, please pass along my thanks to the owner, who hit the ground running as soon as he got the keys. I’ve been following every blog post and comments since arriving at the gym to work out and discovering movers that fateful Thu afternoon. Anxious to get back on cardio machines to work off leftover Halloween candy. I greatly appreciate all that’s been done and is being done to get me back there sooner than later. Lastly, thanks to all of the employees who are hanging in there!

Paul November 1, 2014 (6:27 pm)

My recommendation would be to make the first day free to everyone to work out so that they can check out the place and decide whether or not to sign up. Seems like a good business idea.

cj November 1, 2014 (6:30 pm)

Never been there but recall over the years a lot of people complaining about maintenance and facility issues. I have to wonder how the lease was set up and who exactly was responsible for building upkeep.

fluffy November 1, 2014 (6:32 pm)

Would it be open normal time on Tuesday?? 5am??

John November 1, 2014 (6:55 pm)

Thank you WSB for all the updates, and your hard work.

JanS November 1, 2014 (7:37 pm)

cj, from a previous WSB article on this, Sam Adams’ lease was “as is”, and maintenance was up to him, not the building owner. He signed the lease, and now blames the owner, following his “never take responsibility for anything” demeanor.

Brad November 1, 2014 (7:41 pm)

@Employee, you should get a lawyer. My girlfriend is an employment lawyer, she said, in this case you should get a lawyer to get your claim in and hopefully get your paycheck sooner than later.

Brad November 1, 2014 (7:42 pm)

Employee, you should get a lawyer. My girlfriend is an employment lawyer, she said, in this case you should get a lawyer to get your claim in and hopefully get your paycheck sooner than later.

curious November 1, 2014 (7:42 pm)

The new manager says “…will extend membership expiration dates for people that have paid-in-full memberships and not bill monthly members for the days we were closed”

This implies that the new business intends to just transfer over all the contracts of the old business, with a credit for time closed. How can they do this legally? Contracts between two parties can’t just be changed unilaterally. If the new club is a new business, shouldn’t it require all new contracts? I am not a lawyer (obviously) nor a member so I am just curious how this works. I would be pretty upset if a new person started billing me automatically when I had never established a business relationship with them.

Can anyone elaborate?

Runner Girl November 1, 2014 (9:04 pm)

Not holding my breath for the Tuesday open. Just days ago he said opening on Sunday. I predict another set back. I was a member 2 years ago. Stopped going because machines were always broken. Looks like I got out right in time.

fluffy November 1, 2014 (10:19 pm)

If you aren’t a member anymore, why are you complaining?

Thomas M. November 1, 2014 (10:30 pm)

I agree with Brad’s girlfriend. The BK element adds a layer of complexity that L & I might not want to deal with.

pupsarebest November 1, 2014 (10:54 pm)

Is it cost-effective to hire a lawyer to collect a paycheck, given lawyer’s fees?

FJ November 1, 2014 (11:36 pm)

I’d skip the lawyer and file with L&I directly. You’ll likely pay an attorney more than you would get in back pay.

Jim Thomas November 2, 2014 (5:05 am)

Congratulations on getting open!

Amy November 2, 2014 (6:43 am)

Why, Why, Why are people looking for legal advice from people here? And why are so many people acting like this man owes you an explanation for things someone else has done? This ongoing conversation of distrust and ‘he better make this right’ attitude. This is new management working really hard people! And its just a gym! Calm the heck down and give them room to make it a nice place again.

Gina November 2, 2014 (8:17 am)

Thank you WSB!

Gym Member November 2, 2014 (9:40 am)

Thank you West Seattle Blog!

I’m not a normal reader of the site (live on Queen Anne) but I work in WS and this gym is my lunch time fix. Without it I’ve been lost.

At least I’ve had the regular updates and this blog’s dogged pursuit of info to keep me going.

Thanks again.

HC November 2, 2014 (10:53 am)

Excited to have an owner of a club with a good reputation and is communicating in a transparent way. Please bring back some of the top notch Zumba and dance instructors! Jeffie Lou , Jennifer and Nicole. Could Natalia even come back for dance step? Would be amazing!

Assignor November 2, 2014 (11:11 am)

“Contracts between two parties can’t just be changed unilaterally.”

Check for an ‘assignment’ clause. Unless it’s a contract for personal services, where you paid for a specific person to cut your hair, paint your, etc… They can often be transferred along with the business. Unless you have a named trainer listed in your contract and they’re no longer available, etc.

I see the other side: those ‘paid-in-full’ memberships. New owners aren’t -required- to take on the existing contracts that bankrupted the first owner. Those people could all just be cut off. Happily, it sounds like the new owner is more focused on keeping their business.

Jessica November 2, 2014 (11:16 am)

They double charged me on the way out, and I had to dispute that charge and order a new credit card because I don’t trust any of these people with it. Arrogant to assume we want to come back after all this. I’m not getting any correspondence from either owners, and I’m not holding my breath. Looks like I have to get out of WS for a decent gym.

Sue November 2, 2014 (11:25 am)

Retracted with apologies.

Stinky britches November 2, 2014 (2:55 pm)

This is great news!! Thank you wsb for all the updates! Thank you dan Lehr for keeping the memberships in place. I paid for a full year in June. I’ll be there bright and early tuesday. I feel like I got fat! I need my morning work outs!

Samantha November 2, 2014 (2:58 pm)

Since the gym will be opening on Tuesday will there be any classes?

Brian M. November 2, 2014 (4:39 pm)

Without a pool and classes, these folks better NOT assume my month-to-month membership. *I* will choose if/when to come back, since I had ZERO choice in losing what I originally paid for.

Fluffy November 3, 2014 (7:07 am)

Any news on what time it will open tomorrow? Regular time would be stupendous! Because I really REALLY need to get back on schedule.

CAROLINE November 3, 2014 (11:08 am)

Will classes be held this week?

WSB November 3, 2014 (11:19 am)

I was kind of hoping there would be more information on the placeholder website by now, but it doesn’t appear to have been updated beyond “opening tomorrow.” I was going to ping Dan Lehr today anyway so will ask a couple of the questions that have come up in comments here, such as “what time tomorrow” and “any classes?” – TR

Fluffy November 3, 2014 (11:46 am)

I look forward as to what you find out. Thank you again!

ChrisBean November 3, 2014 (12:30 pm)

Can you please also inquire whether or not the Kids Club will be available? Thank you!

Dan Lehr November 3, 2014 (12:37 pm)

the club will open at 5am and operate normal business hours from this point on. We will have a skeleton group fitness schedule until the new equipment arrives hopefully late next week. I’ll post this on the site as it becomes available.

I certainly understand everyone’s skepticism but I’d really appreciate it if everyone would wait to pass judgment for a few weeks until our new equipment begins to arrive.

Thanks for everyone’s patience!

Hutch November 3, 2014 (12:59 pm)

I am grateful the club is opening back up. Please bring back the instructors. Missing the pilates and Barre classes with Kasey & Pam.

Iggy November 3, 2014 (1:58 pm)

What about the trainers? Austin in particular!

Ian November 3, 2014 (2:58 pm)

Interesting note for “current” club members – I emailed Sam Adams at Sam@westseattleclub.com asking when we could expect refunds per his previous post on the WSB –

“For those of you that have been charged before the club was closed down or you joined less than 30 days ago, you will be receiving a full refund. If you have any questions please feel free to email us from the website atwww.westseattleclub.com. We will be using the contact information that we have on file to send you your refund.”

Got the following response:

“Not sure. Working on it. A lot to do Ian. I anticipate this month.”

WSB November 3, 2014 (3:26 pm)

Thanks, Ian. One note re: that – what we included in that story, sent to members, forwarded by several members to us, was an e-mail that we were careful to note was “signed Sam Adams” as opposed to declaring unequivocally that it was FROM him – I had no way to vouch it was personally from him – and if you saw our earlier coverage, a claim in his bankruptcy case is disputed by him saying that something was arranged by his father Sam E. Adams instead of him, Sam A. Adams …
.
Meantime, right about the same time Dan Lehr commented above, I e-mailed him and this was his reply regarding tomorrow’s opening, in case it contains additional information of interest. We probably will write a separate story at some point tonight but just in case breaking news sweeps that plan away, he wrote:

“We will be open at 5am.

Skeleton class schedule which I will post as soon as I have it.

Kids club will be open, pool closed for about two weeks to allow for painting, equipment repairs and HVAC to be completed. Carpets will be cleaned tonight, floors shined up. Locker rooms have been repainted in the shower areas.”

.

Orasa November 3, 2014 (3:12 pm)

I hope Nikki will be teaching Kick-it tomorrow to start this opening day right :-)

Fluffy November 3, 2014 (3:26 pm)

Can I get a Hallay-Loo-Ya?!? I cant wait to get back into the swing of things. Thank you Dan for this VERY exciting news!

employee November 3, 2014 (3:30 pm)

Ian,

I would not bet on seeing a refund anytime soon. He still has not even paid the employees, which are having to file wage claims against him with the state.

WSB, can you post the info on how we can reach the A.G. office and or know who in that office is gathering info on a case so we can reach out to them?

WSB November 3, 2014 (3:35 pm)

On my to-do list! I don’t think I’ll have it today, though. Will be checking the court files etc. before the next story. So the checks allegedly to be mailed on the 28th did not arrive?

PD November 3, 2014 (3:47 pm)

Thanks WSB and Dan for updates. Agree with Amy, this is to give new ownership a chance. Let’s not waste energy being negative – so not healthy.

Dan, what’s the plan for the pool. It is something setting your property apart from others in the area. I would appreciate at least some news about it.

Thanks!

PG Carr November 3, 2014 (4:11 pm)

“I certainly understand everyone’s skepticism but I’d really appreciate it if everyone would wait to pass judgment for a few weeks until our new equipment begins to arrive.

Thanks for everyone’s patience!”

I am VERY skeptical but at the same time not negative. I understand as a business owner what it will take to get this mess sorted. That poor facility has been through so much. We miss it but will come by soon and see how it’s running. We paid for first and last month’s membership and are probably screwed of the last mont’s membership fee we paid because of the closure?

Mama2papa November 3, 2014 (4:57 pm)

I co-sign the return of some mid-day Zumba classes! NICOLE please!

PG Carr November 3, 2014 (5:24 pm)

One thing that has always bothered me about health clubs is that stupid “last month’s fee” charged upfront. why??! i own a hosting company and do not charge “last month’s hosting”. This will be one thing that can be a wrinkle if we rejoin West Seattle club because we already paid for “last month’s fee” and there was indeed no last month so we lost that?

Sweetie November 3, 2014 (6:33 pm)

ThAnk gOd!!!
I’m getting soft and aggressive lol

Mark November 3, 2014 (8:36 pm)

I went by the facilities at 8pm
on Monday Nov 3rd Four Vehicles are there and you can see workers on the various floors running around trying to put things back together.

Heres hoping the opening happens on Tuesday, could be a late night for some of those workers..

Cardio queen November 3, 2014 (8:57 pm)

I really hope to see new equiptment ASAP. There is a great community at this gym and we are all hoping for a change. We stuck around for too many false promises. This is the last chance for me. Otherwise , we have no choice to take our business elsewhere. Please come through !!

employee November 3, 2014 (10:17 pm)

WSB

That is correct, checks have not arrived as of today Monday.

RCS November 3, 2014 (10:31 pm)

Yay! I’m excited these guys have been aggressive about getting things turned around. Tomorrow is going to hurt! Two weeks out of the gym and all that Halloween candy as done a number on me. Ha.

Thank you WSB for the great reporting.
Thank you Dan Lehr and team for all the hard work.

Rojoyo November 4, 2014 (5:12 am)

Club is open!!

Ron November 4, 2014 (6:32 am)

First workout in nearly 2 weeks. Most of the equipment is still there. Over half of cardio gone, I assume to be repaired. Most didn’t work before the closure. The floor looks great. I know that patience is a virtue, but I can live without tvs, music, core balls, but you can’t use free wights without benches. There is only 1 incline bench for the enitre gyn. No flat benches and no adjustable. There are 3 (all small weights) preacher bars and only 1 straight bar, again low weight. No stackable barbell benches either. I’m thrilled that the club is reopened, but benches are a must. Luckily they aren’t high priced items. Welcome back!

WSB November 4, 2014 (8:08 am)

Thanks for the updates! We’re down there now for a photo or two and will write a separate story in an hour or so.

Orasa November 4, 2014 (8:12 am)

Are there any workout classes today?

supernov72 November 4, 2014 (8:20 am)

FYI only–sent Dan a note to the email provided above from the new website. Asked if it would help to bring my old contract in with those terms on pricing etc (I was on the “corporate” rate of $45 a month). Will let you know if I hear back. I”m guessing he has about 5,000 emails to sift through : )

WSB November 4, 2014 (8:24 am)

Update, the person at the front desk wouldn’t allow our photographer in. So no photo and no new information beyond that it’s indeed open.

Fluffy November 4, 2014 (8:42 am)

First one in the door this morning & man do I fell GREAT! Was so excited I told my work I was coming in late. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but there was more there then I what I was thinking there would be. Smells so fresh & so clean, just like the new start this gym has been in dire need of. I did see a lot of happy people and that’s what it all comes down to. Keep it up!!

ChrisBean November 4, 2014 (8:42 am)

@Ron or Rojoyo or anyone else who has gone to the gym – Can you let us know how the “check-in” process went? Did you have to sign a new contract? Or did you just show your old card? It would be interesting to know how that was handled this morning. Thanks for the info!

Ron November 4, 2014 (9:05 am)

All that they asked was us to put out name and email
on a clipboard.

ChrisBean November 4, 2014 (9:10 am)

Awesome – thanks, Ron!

MJ November 4, 2014 (9:34 am)

I’m so happy right now!!! My beautiful gym is open, my friends are on the floor working out, it smells great and the air is on!! It was also an amazing feeling to see the same great staff. Go WS Club!!!
Life is once again in balance!

PG Carr November 4, 2014 (10:10 am)

will have to check it out!

Brian November 5, 2014 (5:18 am)

Worked out Tuesday following the news from above. Signed in with name and phone number for entry, but was asked to bring proof-of-payment the next time I come (bank statement, etc.).