Club South owner offers it to landlord

The Boardman fitness club has about 2,000 members.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

BOARDMAN — The owner of Club South has offered to turn over the center’s equipment to the landlord and step away from the business.

The landlord, John Giannios, said he will review the health club’s membership and financial documents before deciding whether to accept the offer from Lance Owens and reopen the Tiffany Boulevard club.

Giannios said he hopes to reach a decision quickly because people have paid for memberships that they haven’t been able to use. The fitness club was closed last week.

“It’s not good to leave people hanging,” said Giannios, who also owns the adjacent Youngstown Skate and Giannios Candy in Struthers.

Owens said he made his offer Monday in order to resolve the uncertainty.

“My goal is to get the members back in the gym as soon as possible,” he said.

Giannios said he will review the matter with his lawyer but he hopes a quick agreement would lead to a canceling of a court hearing Monday.

The landlord is seeking an order to have the business closed because he said it doesn’t have liability insurance. He received a temporary order last week.

If there’s a deal, Giannios said he’d be willing to drop a $1.8 million lawsuit he filed againstOwens, who bought the club in 2005. The suit says Owens hadn’t been paying rent and other charges. Giannios took over ownership of the building Feb. 13.

Giannios said he’s confident a health club can work at the site based on the number of calls he’s received from people who want Club South to reopen.

Owens said the costs of running the business were more than the revenue he was bringing in. The club had 2,000 members, about 500 fewer than a year ago, he said.

To increase membership, he said he would have had to invest in new equipment and upgrade the physical conditions of the building, but he didn’t have the money.

He said membership also had declined because of a weakening local economy and the attractiveness of the new YMCA on McClurg Road.

Giannios said not everyone in the area wants to go the Y, so he thinks Club South still is viable.

Owens said he wouldn’t open his own center if Club South is reopened. Before Club South was shut down, he had planned to relocate to a smaller location on South Avenue to reduce his overhead costs.

Owens said he will be looking for another job.

shilling@vindy.com