Alchemy 365 will shut its four Minnesota fitness studios next month.
Alchemy 365 fitness studio will shut Minnesota gyms next month, citing finances
CEO said in a letter that the business has never recovered from the pandemic.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 9, 2024 at 12:22PM
The company’s CEO, Tyler Quinn, sent a letter to members Tuesday saying the gym could not overcome issues caused by the pandemic and had too much debt to continue as is.
Alchemy 365′s four gyms in Colorado will remain open.
The gyms specialized in small group fitness classes and strength training. Alchemy 365 had operations in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood, the North Loop, northeast Minneapolis and Edina. A fifth location in Uptown Minneapolis closed in 2021.
Quinn said Alchemy 365 could not make needed investments to keep its gyms current. The Minnesota gyms will have final classes on Nov. 16.
Alchemy 365 is the latest casualty of a pandemic that has hurt two of every three small businesses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“It’s difficult to know where to begin the explanation,” said Quinn, also a co-founder. “Rebounding from the pandemic has simply not panned out as we’d hoped. Despite a lot of great people working very hard, we never quite figured out how to reconcile our pre-pandemic leases, debts, and operating budget with our post-pandemic revenue.”
Quinn said many of its coaches are already working at other Twin Cities gyms. Alchemy employed fewer than 50 workers in Minnesota.
He took the reins of the affordable housing nonprofit at a time of transition and leaves it with a strong plan for the future.
