The gym, open since late 2018, may have closed; a license lapse is an indication, not confirmation
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Overview
Updated 1 hour agoA Planet Fitness in West St. Paul appears to have closed. The gym dropped off Minnesota's list of licensed food establishments in early September, after showing up on two straight readings in late August.
The state list is the only signal. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture publishes no dates, so a missing license is an indication, not confirmation. A gym can lose its food license without shuttering.
The club opened in late 2018, after PF Baseline Fitness paid $2.575 million for a former Party City building on Robert Street. The Fargo-based franchisee runs 25 Planet Fitness locations and has been owned by private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. since 2017.
If the closure is real, members on monthly contracts lose their 24-hour gym. The building would become the latest anchor retail spot to turn over on Robert Street.
Why it matters
West St. Paul's Planet Fitness members may lose their 24-hour gym, and a Robert Street anchor retail spot would sit empty.
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
Fargo-based franchisee that owns and operates the West St. Paul Planet Fitness.
Hampton, New Hampshire-based franchisor of the Planet Fitness chain.
Private equity firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles.
Minnesota state agency that licenses food establishments and publishes an online list.
Timeline
July 2018 September 2026
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Three straight misses
Latest ObservationLicense absent from the list for a third consecutive reading, indicating possible closure.
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License last seen
ObservationFinal reading where the license appears on the active list.
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License first observed
ObservationThe location appears on the state's active food license list.
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Planet Fitness opens
OpeningThe club begins business at 1675 Robert St. S., with a grand opening in January 2019.
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Franchisee buys Robert Street site
TransactionPF Baseline Fitness closes on the former Party City building for $2.575 million.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
24 Hour Fitness Bankruptcy (2020)
24 Hour Fitness, one of the largest US gym chains, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2020 and permanently closed about 100 locations.
Members at shuttered clubs lost access; the chain cut debt and renegotiated leases.
The fitness industry consolidated toward larger, better-capitalized chains.
Shows how gym operators quietly close individual locations when membership economics turn.
Gold's Gym Chapter 11 (2020)
Gold's Gym filed for Chapter 11 in May 2020 while owned by investment firm TRT Holdings. Some company-owned locations closed while franchisees kept others open.
Debt restructured; select clubs closed permanently.
Private-equity-backed gym chains proved fragile in downturns.
PF Baseline's owner is also a private equity firm, making Gold's a cautionary parallel.
Party City Bankruptcy (2023)
Party City, which occupied 1675 Robert St. S. before Planet Fitness, filed for Chapter 11 in January 2023 and closed stores.
The retailer shrank and cut debt.
Big-box retail buildings cycle through tenants as chains contract.
The Robert Street building already turned over once when Party City left; a Planet Fitness exit would repeat that cycle.
