Yellow light for Orangetheory
Also, news on Westlake Market and an update on Let Them Eat Cake
Happy new year! Business news slowed to a trickle the last two weeks, so I took advantage of some down time. If you have a new gift subscription, please know this isn’t typical. I’ve published 50 posts since I moved this column to Substack on May 17, averaging more than 1.5 columns a week.
But while I wait for replies from some of my sources, I do have a few tidbits for you.
Orangetheory Fitness will not open in the first quarter of 2025. One of Davis franchise owners said it looks more like April or May. Permits are the cause for delay.
The gym will fill a portion of the former Seasons Kitchen & Bar space at 102 F St. The other half will become Akira Japanese Cuisine. The hotel and its ground-floor retail and restaurant spaces are all owned by Presidio Co.
Orangetheory franchise owners Raymond and Stephanie Bautista, who also own Massage Envy, say they still plan a kickoff party from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown lobby, 110 F St., Davis. There will be special discounts and giveaways for the first 150 people who sign up for a fitness membership.
The new fitness center will offer seven to 10 one-hour classes every day. Attendees rotate through three sections – strength training, rowing and treadmill – while wearing a heart-rate monitor.
I do not have an update on Akira, which is under the same ownership of Akira Coffee & Tea at 620 W. Covell Blvd. To avoid confusion, the coffeehouse was to get a name change last month to Four Teason but the signage has not yet changed. The owners hoped to have the new restaurant open in February but that seems optimistic. Restaurants typically take longer than other businesses because of all the necessary inspections.