Bob Foos
Rise Fitness’ new location in Webb City is open, and manager Kooper Lawson says he’s closing in on the goal of signing up 500 new members.
The new black metal building’s visibility from MacArthur Drive is one reason. Another is the rising visibility of the company.
Webb City is the sixth Rise Fitness center and the first to be new construction. The five others have filled existing spots, such as the one in Carl Junction where a Dollar General had been.
Rise Fitness was started by Kooper’s older brother, Brian, in Neosho. When his previous business, Lawson Motors, slowed during the pandemic, he saw an opportunity to offer a gym to people seeking a better lifestyle.
Kooper, originally from Galena, Kan., had moved to Florida but hurried back when Brian offered to let him manage the Baxter Springs, Kan. gym. Kooper later managed the one in Carl Junction and then has transferred to Webb City.
The other locations are in Carthage and Grove, Okla.
“Response has been great,” says Cooper about the opening here. “The numbers (of new members) speak for themselves.” Moreover, he says the chamber ribbon cutting last week was the largest he’s seen. “There were 50 in the picture and another 50 not shown.”
The standard membership of $24.95 includes 24/7 access with a key card to all Rise Fitness facilities.
Features of the 17,000 square-foot Webb City gym include the latest cardio and weight-lifting equipment, a turf area for agility, tanning, red light therapy, saunas, lockers and showers, body scale and posing room.
There are currently classes in kickboxing, HIIT (high intensity interval training) and physical training by an Army veteran.
Yoga and zumba classes will be offered in the future, along with a functional fitness class.
Tom Reeder, former director of parks and recreation, has over the years developed the property for commercial use and bought additional lots to provide access from Hall Street.
On East Street, at the southeast corner with Daugherty Street, there are now indications that construction of a Simple Simon Pizza is beginning.
No application for a building permit has been received yet. Eddie Kreighbaum, public works director, says one isn’t necessary to build a concrete pad.
The location, owned by the city as part of the Centennial Retail and Industrial Park, was first spoken for by the owner of a grocery store chain, which after lengthy consideration, eventually decided not to build here.
Then the city received an offer to build a coffee shop there. But the City Council has since allowed the change to a restaurant.
