24-hour fitness club in works

Franchisees Kyle and Mary Eckmann are branching out.

The Eckmanns, who own five Great Clips hair cutting franchises in Helena and other cities around the state, this week plan to open their first Snap Fitness 24-hour fitness club in the Road Runner Center on North Montana.

"It's a niche market that I was interested in, and I wanted to have something going besides the Great Clips locations," Kyle Eckmann said. "It's a unique business model. The center is open 24 hours a day, and there are no contracts. It's all key-card access -- we don't have employees there all the time."

The 2,200-foot club will include treadmills, stairclimbers, exercise bikes and other equipment made by Cybex. Tanning beds and advice from personal trainers are available for extra charges.

Eckmann was previously the financial management manager at the Helena Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis before leaving the bank earlier this year to concentrate on his franchises.

He said the notion of 24-hour access to exercise is designed to make the club as convenient as possible for members.

Even though there aren't employees on-site at all times, the pass key system records who enters the building at what times, and a surveillance camera system provides additional security, Eckmann said.

He expects to have staff on hand around 60 hours per week at first, mainly to answer questions and sell memberships, with the staff time decreasing over time.

The fitness center will take up one of three retail spaces added onto the west side of the building that previously held Pets Are #1. The pet store closed in June.

Building owner Rudy Haas of Clancy said the 6,500-square-foot addition brings the building to about 10,000 square feet. The entire exterior was remodeled as well at the same time.

Haas said he has two more tenants lined up and close to signing -- including one that will fill the original pet store space -- and he expects to finalize the deals within the next 30 days.

Eckmann said he and his wife own the Snap Fitness franchise rights in several other Montana cities (Bozeman, Great Falls, Belgrade, Livingston and Big Sky), toward which they'll turn their attention once the Helena club is up and running.

Hi, Lowe's: The latest press release from Lowe's says the 116,000-square-foot Helena home improvement store just east of ShopKo off Custer Avenue will open Saturday, Jan. 13, with a formal grand opening the following Thursday, Jan. 18.

The store will stock 40,000 items, according to the press release, represents an investment by the company of $18.5 million and will create as many as 175 jobs.

Email your Open for Business ideas to john.harrington@helenair.com.