The lease is signed! Arthur, fill us in on the details.
The lease is signed! Arthur, fill us in on the details.
Yes!!! Lease at last! I just shared the news with my Early Interest List subscribers. Boston's first Starting Strength Gym will be at 993 Watertown Street, West Newton. It's West of Boston right off of Mass Pike I-90's exit 16.
The location has 2,400 square feet of glorious space in the basement level underneath CVS. The gym entrance will be in the rear of the building facing the parking lot -- yes, there is a small parking lot in addition to street parking! The target opening date is Spring 2021. That allows time to draw up architectural plans, get building permits, complete construction, install all the weight equipment, and then have a grand opening. I can be more specific with dates once I'm further along the process.
Thats a pretty good location. Traffic through there is tough in the evenings, but that’s true of all Metro Boston, and anyplace without traffic would be remote enough to be unappealing to lots of people.
One major plus is that it’s walking distance to Blue Ribbon BBQ, which will no doubt be scandalously inadequate for any visiting Texans, but is among the best barbecue up here in the great frozen northeast.
Hmmm. Tell me more about this BBQ place. Is it a delicious "hole in the wall" takeout style place or does it have a dining area? I'm looking for a comfortable spot near the gym with space for us meetups every quarter Boston's Starting Strength community. We did one pre-COVID at Trillium Brewery in Canton which is great but not near Newton. Any suggestions?
Blue Ribbon is basically a takeout place, with a small counter and maybe a couple cafe tables outside. They do catering, and if you’re looking to have some food at the gym it would be a natural choice. I’m sure it’s takeout only right now. The kind of place you’re looking for, to have a meet up, was a couple doors down, the Local, which is now closed and may not survive the lockdown. Hopefully it or something comparable will open in that space when the restaurants can come back.
Congratulations Arthur! If nothing else, no one can ever question your commitment to both the SS community and to the opening of your gym. Many lesser men would have given up the chase by now given the many arduous circumstances with which you've been confronted. I wish you every success and look forward to more details about the gym as they become available.
I’ll watch for it. Hope they reopen. Thanks!
Thanks so much! I have some dark real estate stories that I won’t go into here. I’m grateful that part is finished so I can focus on opening. Build it and they will come! I’ll keep the updates coming
Thanks to everyone for the messages of congratulations and support! Had to share two photos that Robert from Tyngsborough (northern Boston suburbs) included in his email to me. He asked me for some tips on building deadlift platforms a few months back and voila! He’s making it work at home in style. Love this man’s priorities
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As the gym buildout process begins, I'm posting pictures on Starting Strength Boston's Instagram and Facebook feeds. Go check it out!