The Bay Club, the active-lifestyle and hospitality company, has officially left the Santa Barbara area after fitness giant Gold’s Gym acquired its three local locations.
The Bay Club, self-described as “like an everyday resort,” has 23 locations around the state, and operated in Santa Barbara at 21 W. Carrillo St. and 3908 State St., and in Goleta at 6144 Calle Real.
The company declined to comment on the acquisitions.
Gold’s Gym maintains over 700 locations around the world, and the Santa Barbara-area gyms are now owned by brothers Angel and Willy Banos, who form the largest Gold’s franchise group in the state with over a dozen gyms.
“We’re working hard to bring results-oriented health clubs back to the community,” Willy Banos said. “Our brand is over 50 years old. We look forward to servicing the community one member at a time.”
The facilities will not close during the rebranding and transition phase, he told Noozhawk. The deal was completed on Oct. 1, he said, after roughly six months of hammering out details.
The clubs were founded as Gold’s Gyms back in the early 1990s, Banos said, and he and his brother considered buying them when they were up for sale in 2005, but ultimately passed.
The facilities later became Spectrum Athletic Clubs, a chain acquired by the Bay Club a year and a half ago.
The gym facilities didn’t quite fit into the Bay Club’s more comprehensive hospitality and resort model, Banos said.
“It wasn’t in their wheelhouse,” he said. “We took the opportunity to work with them and take over these three clubs.”
According to a statement from the Banos’ franchise, Bay Club memberships will be converted to Gold’s memberships, and visitors to the “Uptown,” “Downtown” and Goleta locations can soon expect updated equipment and a variety of programs, along with renovated locker rooms, new flooring, new group fitness programs, bottle drinks, health bars and a Gold’s retail shop.
“Overall, cleansing and cleaning of the clubs,” Banos said.
The gyms are open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.