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West St. Paul Planet Fitness drops off state license list

West St. Paul Planet Fitness drops off state license list

Money Moves Saint Paul, MN local

The gym, open since late 2018, may have closed; a license lapse is an indication, not confirmation

September 3rd, 2026: Three straight misses

Overview

Updated Sep 4

A Planet Fitness in West St. Paul appears to have closed. The gym dropped off Minnesota's list of licensed food establishments in early September, after showing up on two straight readings in late August.

The state list is the only signal. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture publishes no dates, so a missing license is an indication, not confirmation. A gym can lose its food license without shuttering.

The club opened in late 2018, after PF Baseline Fitness paid $2.575 million for a former Party City building on Robert Street. The Fargo-based franchisee runs 25 Planet Fitness locations and has been owned by private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. since 2017.

If the closure is real, members on monthly contracts lose their 24-hour gym. The building would become the latest anchor retail spot to turn over on Robert Street.

Why it matters

West St. Paul's Planet Fitness members may lose their 24-hour gym, and a Robert Street anchor retail spot would sit empty.

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Key Indicators

$2.575M
Price paid for the West St. Paul site in 2018
PF Baseline Fitness bought the former Party City building in July 2018.
8
Years the gym operated
Open since late 2018, the club had a roughly eight-year run if now closed.
3
Consecutive readings missing the license
The license has been absent from three straight list readings as of September 3, 2026.
25
Planet Fitness locations run by PF Baseline
The Fargo franchisee operates 25 clubs across six states, per 2018 reporting.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

July 2018 September 2026

5 events Latest: September 3rd, 2026 · 1 week ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Three straight misses

    Latest Observation

    License absent from the list for a third consecutive reading, indicating possible closure.

  2. License last seen

    Observation

    Final reading where the license appears on the active list.

  3. License first observed

    Observation

    The location appears on the state's active food license list.

  4. Planet Fitness opens

    Opening

    The club begins business at 1675 Robert St. S., with a grand opening in January 2019.

  5. Franchisee buys Robert Street site

    Transaction

    PF Baseline Fitness closes on the former Party City building for $2.575 million.

Scenarios

1

West St. Paul Planet Fitness confirms closure

Possible Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: Local commercial real estate watchers; Finance & Commerce tracks Twin Cities retail transactions.

If the gym has closed, PF Baseline Fitness or Planet Fitness would confirm it, likely via a statement or by marketing the property. The building would join a list of empty anchor retail spots on Robert Street.

2

License lapse is administrative, gym keeps running

Possible Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: The original license observation, which notes a lapse can happen for reasons other than closing.

The license could reappear if the lapse stemmed from a fee or paperwork issue. The gym might have been operating through it, as food license lapses sometimes go unnoticed by the public.

3

Property sold and repurposed

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Commercial real estate brokers; the building's 2018 conversion from Party City to Planet Fitness is a local precedent.

The site could be sold to a new owner and converted to a different use, repeating the 2018 cycle. This would confirm the gym closed for good and signal what comes next for the building.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 2020

24 Hour Fitness Bankruptcy (2020)

24 Hour Fitness, one of the largest US gym chains, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2020 and permanently closed about 100 locations.

Then

Members at shuttered clubs lost access; the chain cut debt and renegotiated leases.

Now

The fitness industry consolidated toward larger, better-capitalized chains.

Why this matters now

Shows how gym operators quietly close individual locations when membership economics turn.

May 2020

Gold's Gym Chapter 11 (2020)

Gold's Gym filed for Chapter 11 in May 2020 while owned by investment firm TRT Holdings. Some company-owned locations closed while franchisees kept others open.

Then

Debt restructured; select clubs closed permanently.

Now

Private-equity-backed gym chains proved fragile in downturns.

Why this matters now

PF Baseline's owner is also a private equity firm, making Gold's a cautionary parallel.

January 2023

Party City Bankruptcy (2023)

Party City, which occupied 1675 Robert St. S. before Planet Fitness, filed for Chapter 11 in January 2023 and closed stores.

Then

The retailer shrank and cut debt.

Now

Big-box retail buildings cycle through tenants as chains contract.

Why this matters now

The Robert Street building already turned over once when Party City left; a Planet Fitness exit would repeat that cycle.

Sources

(3)