A new fitness experience is coming to Naperville this summer.
Miami-based JETSET Pilates is expanding to the Chicago area with plans to open 18 new locations, three of which will be in Naperville. The first is to open this summer at 2555 W. 75th St. and two others are in development, according to Michael Zennedjian, vice president of real estate and construction for JETSET Pilates.
The company is also opening a studio in Northbrook in late spring, plans to open a total of six in Chicago, and is considering other sites in towns that include Wheaton, Downers Grove and St. Charles/Geneva, Zennedjian said.
“We do believe that Chicago, from a demographic perspective and a population density perspective, is very much underserved right now as a market, and we think that there’s an amazing opportunity to educate and bring an elevated experience from a Pilates perspective to the market,” he said.
Each class they offer is 50 minutes long and starts with a light warm-up before switching to more intense movements, he said. Workouts center on a Pilates reformer machine designed specifically for JETSET and also incorporate light dumbbells and a Pilates ring, combining strength, cardio and Pilates-inspired movements for a full body workout.
“The big thing from a class perspective, in a 50-minute class, we would get a ton done in that time, very compact, and a lot of different movements and workouts that are very core focused,” Zennedjian said.
JETSET was founded in 2010 by Tamara Galinsky, who was looking for a way to get back into shape after having her first child, according to the company’s website. When she discovered Pilates, she was hooked and wanted to continue to challenge herself, leading her to start JETSET Pilates in Miami.
The company started franchising in 2022. There are more than 270 studios open or in development across the U.S. and Australia, per a news release.
“We’ve always seen Naperville as a huge focal point for our expansion in Chicago. We think it’s really a linchpin to the western suburbs, and it’s really important from a demo perspective because it has such magnetism on the west side of the city,” Zennedjian said.
Typically, the age range for JETSET members runs from people in their 20s to their 50s and 60s, he said, with both men and women attending classes.
Naperville also offers many of the kinds of stores their members patronize, he said.
“And from a core customer perspective, we find that folks that come to JETSET are also very much so customers that interact with places like the Apple Store, obviously athleisure brands like Lululemon, Vuori,” Zennedjian said. “They also love quick serve casual restaurants like CAVA, Sweetgreen and Chipotle. And for us, they tend to shop at your Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s for the most part.”
The studio set to open this summer is in a shopping center anchored by a Whole Foods Market, he noted.
JETSET is not the only fitness-themed business coming to Naperville this year. California-based clothing brand Vuori is taking over the spot formerly occupied by an Eddie Bauer store in downtown Naperville, with an opening planned for this summer, according to a social media post from the Downtown Naperville Alliance.
Vuori, which means mountain in Finnish, is known for its activewear and athleisure apparel for men and women.
High-intensity fitness studio Barry’s Bootcamp is also coming to downtown Naperville later this year in Main Street Promenade East at 50 S. Main St. Barry’s will be filling a space unoccupied since the Promenade opened in 2014. In addition to workout classes, they’ll be selling apparel, accessories, and made-to-order protein shakes and wellness drinks.
cstein@chicagotribune.com
