Kids Gym Coming to Monroe Center

Hoboken parents looking for a fun, physically active place to take their children will soon have a new option in town. My Gym, a national franchise of children's fitness centers that began in California in 1983, will open a location on the third floor of the Monroe Center in January.

“We say it's a happy place where children can come and learn to love physical activity,” said Tatiana Vega, co-owner of the My Gym Hoboken.

Vega, who has a business and marketing background, will handle the financial side of the business while her husband, Spanish professional basketball coach Alvaro Perez will lend his expertise towards running the activities.

My Gym will offer classes, games, dances and puppet shows, among other activities, to children ages six weeks to 13 years. Vega said the idea is to give children a fun activity, and also teach motor skills, teamwork and other sports related traits.

The classes are structured based on age, and are titled with names such as Tiny Tikes for months 7-13, and Mighty Mites for ages 3-4. Vega said the location will also offer birthday parties, summer and winter camps and baby-sitting for parents during special nights out.

Vega said she and her husband got interested in opening My Gym based on their own experience as parents. She and Perez have a new born and a three year-old.

“We have two little girls, and we were looking for activities to do, but we realized that we didn't have a lot of them in the area,” she said.

The next closest My Gym locations are in New York and West Orange. Vega and Perez had heard about My Gym from friends, and visited those locations with their own children. They were impressed enough to bring the concept to Hoboken.

“We felt that My Gym had a great program,” Vega said. “We loved it and said we should do this.”

Vega said she considered the idea from two angles. “I was looking at it from the business side, and also from the mom side,” she said.

Vega said she and Perez are in the process of hiring employees. She said they expect to start with 4-6.

Prior to its grand opening on January 02, My Gym Hoboken will have an open house on the weekends of December 9-11 and 16-18. For more information, call 201-758-8390 or visit the My Gym Hoboken website.

Coming soon: a new Indian restaurant comes to Washington Street.

The Business Beat covers businesses opening, closing and relocating in the Mile Square. Have a Hoboken related business tip? Send an email to alanskontra@hotmail.com.