Lemont Couple Opens New Gym in Cardinal Fitness Location
Final Fitness, opened its doors April 28 with several upgrades to gym equipment and services.
A new gym and aerobics facility quietly opened its doors on State Street last month, taking over the space formerly occupied by Cardinal Fitness.
Final Fitness, located at 1140 State Street, was started by Lemont residents Rick and Bernice Hill, who wanted to keep the gym open after Cardinal Fitness announced it was leaving town.
"We had been going to Cardinal Fitness, and heard they were moving out. We didn't want to see the place disappear, so we decided to take over the space and open our own gym," Bernice Hill said.
The Hills bring more than 30 years of experience to their new business. Both held long-term positions at Bally Total Fitness, but always dreamed of owning a gym of their own.
"We're excited to clean the place up and update all the equipment," Bernice said.
Final Fitness has a large weightlifting area and dozens of machines, as well as a spacious aerobic room. Bernice said various aerobic classes and personal training will be available for gym members.
Improvements include new carpet and paint, towels, luxury bathroom products and upgraded equipment. The Hills are also adding a juice bar and a children's area where kids can play and watch television while their parents work out.
"We're updating everything to make this a really nice place for our members," Bernice said.
Final Fitness is honoring existing Cardinal contracts, but members will no longer have access to other Cardinal locations. Cardinal members from other locations will be able to use Final Fitness until July 1.
The cost to join is $25 a month with a $50 start-up fee
Final Fitness is open Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Bernice said the gym's website, www.finalfitnesslemont.com, should launch by the end of the week.
For more information, call 630-243-9999.
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Bob
7:56 am on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The new club opened quietly. Of course it did. I just paid for a year with Cardnial and was told my membership would be honored. Now it's only for 60 days. I'll be calling the BBB.
Not really interested in luxury bathroom products, childcare, classes or $25 a month. Guess I will be going to the Core.
Susan
10:50 am on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Bob, I know how you feel. I received a $250 gift cert from Salon Moda the beginning of this year and 2 weeks later they closed their doors. Just like Cardinal, Moda knew that they were going out of business, but none the less, they both took our money and ran! At Final Fitness, at least you have a family who is taking the risk of opening a business in this town of constantly closing businesses. Would you rather have yet ANOTHER vacant building? Shouldn't your gripe be with the owner of Cardinal Fitness?
Rick
2:17 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Susan Moda didn't know they were closeing that was the banks call to throw them out when they didn't want to sign a 3 year lease just like Mama d's . But Mama d's are going to open in a new location.
Susan
4:55 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Rick, Moda knew exactly what they were doing when they were still selling their gift certificates. Here is a quote from the Patch, "Salon Moda owner Ed Chlebek told Patch Jan. 12 that he was preparing to close his business after receiving an eviction notice from Harris Bank, which owns the plaza." My gift cert was purchased after the Jan. 12th date. Moda had no problem taking the money while knowing they would not honor it.
Joe Mann
10:03 am on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Good Luck to Final Fitness. It is nice that they offered a 60 day free membership to former Cardinal members. Sorry about all the lost memberships that Cardinal Fitness caused. Cardinal should pay those people back. I've met too many people who lost gym memberships that way. That's why I have a gym at home. No lines or distractions or time restrictions or lost memberships.
Bob
12:16 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Susan. My problem is with cardinal fitness. They sold my membership and never said anything to anyone. I found out by seeing the sign change on the building. Cardinal sold to Charter and they took over almost all of the Cardinals in the area except Lemont. I wonder why. Taboo?
Good luck to the new owners.
Amanda Luevano
2:04 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
I wanted to clarify: the 60-day window is for people who go to other Cardinal locations. They can use Final Fitness through July 1. Final Fitness is honoring the contracts former Cardinal members signed in Lemont. They'll just have to go through Final Fitness once it's expired, and they can't go to other Cardinal locations.
Jimmy
5:41 pm on Sunday, May 27, 2012
Why is everyone so shocked, the old owner Bill did the same thing when he owned powerhouse and cardinal took over. He ran a special pay 1 year in full and get the second year free. 2 weeks later he sold to Cardinal and they gave me 90 days. So this is nothing new. Hope the best for the new owner.
Disappointed
2:15 pm on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
I have the same issue as others. I signed up with Cardinal and after the sale they told me I wouldn't be able to use the other cardinal locations. I knew I was going to be moving and using a different Cardinal location. I’m sorry but if you are going to take away my privileges you should give the option to void the agreement. I spoke with the owner and he was extremely rude, telling me that he doesn't have the authority to waive a cancellation fee, obviously an amateur business owner. I too have filed a complaint with the BBB and plan it have my attorney write a letter if this isn't resolved through the BBB. The new owners clearly haven't heard of business ethics.
joe smith
6:01 pm on Friday, November 16, 2012
"Luxury" bath products? Pffft, nice adjective... When I wash my hands with this luxurious product it slides right off, barely creating a lather... which is usually the point of soap. And new carpet? could have fooled me. I don't see a single piece of new equipment either... how about at least replacing the black rubberized portion of the red handles on some of the weight machines... the grips are worn and tired creating a struggle just to get a good grip... give me something to feel somewhat ok paying an extra $5/month. Sounds like a lot of fluffy lies in your post.. where is the next closest gym? Anyone?