Anastasia's Club Has Closed

Anastasia's Club closed July 31 and the building's new owners have already contacted Los Gatos planning officials about opening a new squash training center at the same location, 15445 Los Gatos Blvd.

Former club owner Taryn Anastasia said the property was sold a few months ago.

The new owners, who declined to be identified for this story, said they're having a soft opening next week for their new squash center called Vaayu Athletic Club, named after a Sanskrit word that means fresh air.

Anastasia said she had been in negotiations with the new owners about purchasing her business. However, she said, shortly before they closed Escrow, they changed their minds.

Anastasia said the new owners told her the reason for not wanting to buy the club was because they wanted to convert many of the workout areas to squash courts to play the high-speed racquet sport.

"They didn't want our membership [about 2,200]," she said. "They obviously had a different vision than what ours was so there was nothing to do but close."

"It will be primarily squash ... We want to create an elite squash training academy for kids. You'll still see some racquetball courts, but it will mostly be squash. It will become one of the most popular squash facilities in the area," said a spokesman for the new club who asked that his name not be used.

Anastasia said her family has been in Los Gatos since 1980, however her father opened his first health club in San Jose in 1965. She said about 25 employees, including spinning instructors and other workers lost their jobs.

Ron Denevi, owner of, has helped transition many of the former members to his facility, she said.

The property has been used for health and fitness clubs for about two decades, first as Anastasia's, then George Brown, then Bally, then Pinnacle, then Bally again and finally back to Anastasia's, Anastasia added.

"It's created a huge distrust in the community. It's created a lot of animosity and a lot of hard feelings, which is unfortunate. This has been difficult on me. I have members who think I stole their money, which isn't true. We were forced to close down because they didn't want us there as a tenant. They wanted us out."

She also said that she didn't receive any money from the property's sale, as has been rumored. "It's completely not true," she said. "I did what we could. I tried to stay open as long as possible. It's really sad."

The club with the quirky name had a wide array of strength and cardio equipment including treadmills and free weights. It also offered group classes such as yoga and pilates as well as personal training. Other features included racquetball courts, swimming pool and steam rooms.

Los Gatos Economic Vitality Manager Jessica von Borck confirmed the property had changed owners.

"From a tenanting perspective, planning staff has been approached by another group that would like to open a gym at that location with no change to services. They are in the process of working with the town’s Planning Department," von Borck said in an email.