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glencoeanchor.com news
the glencoe anchor | January 25, 2018 | 3
Glencoe gym’s abrupt closure leaves members in cold
Owner: High rent forced
business out in fall
Megan Bernard, Editor
Members of Power Mind &
Body in Glencoe were shocked
this past fall when the new gym
abruptly shuttered.
According to multiple former
members, and confirmed by
owner Rick Raschillo, patrons
of the gym were not alerted of
the closure and were not issued
any refund, even after members
paid a recent $900 fee for site
upgrades.
Raschillo claims refunds
were not warranted and he did
“the right thing.”
The Glencoe establishment
opened as Air Fitness in 2009 at
686 Vernon Ave, before becoming
MVP Fitness. Several years
later, in October 2016, it rebranded
as Power Mind & Body
in the same downtown location.
Raschillo, a longtime Glenview
resident who owns Glencoe
restaurant Valor, said the
main reason for closing in September
2017 was because of the
“ridiculous” rent.
Under Raschillo, Valor has
also undergone name changes
— from Cibo to District to Valor
— in recent years.
“It was $2,200 per month
when I first opened and by the
time I closed it was $6,000,”
Raschillo said of the gym’s rent.
Raschillo also said the closure
of Einstein’s Bagels next door
hurt his business, claiming foot
traffic around the shopping area
slowed, even after the rebrand.
“After I rebranded, there was
still so much competition in
little gyms. Finding new people
was hard,” he said. “There are
too many options out there. ...
They wanted the newest and
best things. Maybe if the rent
was normal we could have done
that for them.”
For the rebrand in 2016, Raschillo
asked his members to
pay a one-time assessment fee
of $900 for improvements, including
new flooring and paint.
With the new name, classes
were also being offered every
hour, and there were three trainers
on the gym’s staff, including
Raschillo’s son, who did about
95 percent of the training, Raschillo
previously told The Anchor.
“[Members] happily paid
and we stayed open for another
year,” Raschillo said. “But there
were four women that were part
of the problem and one didn’t
want to pay. She got her friends
together and 10 people quit the
gym the day after we remodeled.
It was a big blow.
“I didn’t get paid in the past
year. I had to make sure my
trainers got their salaries.”
In the gym’s final “three or
four months” of operation, its
landlord, The Friedman Group,
let Raschillo rent the space for
free, he said, hoping he could
turn it around.
The Friedman Group declined
to comment.
“There was no court battle,”
Raschillo said. “We obviously
didn’t plan on closing.”
On June 9, 2017, however, the
lease holder sued Raschillo for
$31,912 for violation of contract
in regard to the lease.
At the time of closing, the gym
had 19 members, Raschillo said.
Some of those people remain
upset about the situation.
A Glencoe resident — who
insisted on remaining anonymous
for fear of retribution —
paid $4,000 several years ago
for a lifetime membership.
The membership was charged
as a one-time payment, not as
a $299 monthly fee like other
members paid.
“I liked that [the gym] was
small and not a scene,” the resident
said. “It was a nice group of
Glencoe regulars. But it always
seemed like [Raschillo] was
looking for an influx of cash. I
never had to pay a membership
fee again but it always seemed
like he was trying to find new
angles for us to pay more.”
After Power Mind & Body closed in downtown Glencoe, its
members were shocked when they were not alerted or refunded.
Megan Bernard/22nd Century Media
Another lifetime member —
also asking to remain anonymous
— “felt stuck in a way
because you already invested.”
“It was a good deal for us
because it was convenient, but
there were other problems, too,”
the second person said.
“After the assessment fee,
[Raschillo] said they would be
open for another three years at
least,” according to the second
source. “Had we known or had
an inkling that that wouldn’t
have been true, we wouldn’t
have paid that (fee).”
Both members said they were
outraged when they were not issued
any type of refund for their
assessment fees or lifetime gym
memberships, but Raschillo
said “the deal was amazing.”
“If people used [the lifetime
membership] correctly, they
would have made their money
back after the first year,” he
added, pointing out the regular
$299 membership fee would be
close to $4,000 for a year. “Nobody
bought in during the last
year. Every single person made
their money back and at least 12
months was paid. Nobody was at
the break-even point.”
Raschillo confirmed with The
Anchor he did not issue any refunds
to his gym members, but
instead told his lifetime members
he could train them for no
charge at Equinox Fitness, the
gym to which he now belongs.
They would, however, have to
pay for their own membership to
Equinox.
“There was plenty of options,”
Raschillo said. “[The lifetime
members] didn’t take any of
them. I tried to do the right
thing.”
As far as the actual closure,
members began to notice when
gym equipment began “dissolving,”
the first source said, but
Raschillo didn’t notify any of
them.
He confirmed the same details
with The Anchor, claiming it was
“obvious” they were closing because
of the missing equipment.
Looking forward, Raschillo
said he has no plans to open another
gym.
Raschillo has owned 10 different
gyms in the past, according
to a previous Glencoe Anchor
article, and he has a degree in
kinesiology and sports medicine
from Arizona State University.
In a contentious 2015 decision,
the Glencoe Village Board
awarded Raschillo a liquor license
for Cibo, claiming he was
“rehabilitated” from three felony
arrests in Arizona, including
solicitation of murder in 2001.
Raschillo formerly owned
now-closed Glenview businesses
Chop it Up! and Fresh Wrap
(rebranded restaurant in same
location) and Fitness Cafe.
Additional reporting by Publisher
Joe Coughlin