Gold’s Gym In Howell ‘Another Casualty’ To COVID-19 Pandemic

HOWELL, NJ - Following a particularly difficult year for fitness centers amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Gold’s Gym Howell location will be permanently shutting its doors next month.

The Route 9 facility will be closing on March 25, 2021, according to a statement.

“The COVID-19 virus has certainly been difficult for all of us. It’s hard to believe that a full year has passed since the start of this terrible pandemic,” the statement reads. “I am sure we have all been deeply affected in some way and have all lost things we hold dear to us. Unfortunately, it saddens me to say Gold’s Gym Howell has become another casualty.”

Gov. Phil Murphy shut down gyms on March 16, 2020 due to coronavirus concerns. The closures lasted until at least July, when outdoor facilities could operate outdoors. In September, gyms were permitted to reopen at 25 percent capacity. Read more: Marlboro Gym Opens Full-Service Outdoor Facility

According to an Asbury Park Press report, memberships never bounced back and are still lingering “substantially,” with owner Mark Steinfield reporting that the facility retained less than half of memberships it issued before the pandemic. The gym will be auctioning off equipment in April.

Steinfield cited prolonged restrictions and split approaches to pandemic safety among members as reasons for the location’s prompt closure, according to the report: “I think a lot of clubs are going to realize now that we’re a year into this thing, how long do they want to continue to invest? The government’s done [what] they could. It helped to stay alive this long, but I think it was a decision we had to make.”

In April 2020, Gold's Gym closed around 30 locations across the country, including locations in Alabama, Colorado and Missouri. The franchise currently touts nearly 700 gyms in 29 countries around the world.

There is one other Gold’s Gym location in Monmouth County. That site is in Long Branch.