Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 11

165 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11 ROCHESTER ATHLET I C CLUB a youth area. We ended up removing five. We now have The Neighborhood, a 35,000-square- foot family entertainment center. It’s equipped with mini golf, Aeroball, Carpet ball, Gaga ball pit, PlaySmart (an indoor climbing feature) and batting cages.” As of December 31, 2019, the Rochester Athletic Club was completely debt free, although that changed when COVID-19 arrived in March 2020. Thankfully, the Rochester Athletic Club isn’t saddled with lots of debt but running a business during COVID hasn’t been easy. In the beginning, Remick was on five or more Zoom calls per day and they all kept up with their fitness contacts to share ideas. Frueh recalls there was even a call with an industry contact in China to learn from that country’s experiences. He shares, “We were originally closed three months from March 17th to June 9th, 2020. We had over 300 staff and Remick continued to pay everyone while we were closed, which was unbelievable. Two months into lockdown, Sarah and I met on the gym floor every morning at 8 am. We spread out, wore masks, and practically yelled at each other (due to masks and distance) figuring out what to do. We safely met with the team and asked everyone what their concerns were. We factored those into the Business Preparedness Plan.” Stille adds that they also asked the Management Team questions like, “How will the member walk through the club?” or “How will the member/ staff feel safe?” The group formed committees devoted to one objective such as sanitization. As a team they worked on specific details, putting policies and procedures in place. One representative from the Maintenance Department was the contact for all new cleaning processes. While Frueh and Stille were leading and organizing the team, Remick was procuring safety products. Luckily, he already had one,