Top Crunch Franchisee Enters Boutique Fitness, Signing 25-Studio Yoga Joint Deal

The deal, CR Fitness’ first outside the Crunch Fitness orbit, lands nine months after a $350 million Sixth Street investment — and CEO Tony Scrimale says it won’t be the last

Who says you can’t have it all? Certainly not CR Fitness.

One of Crunch Fitness’ top franchisees — which has been on a growth tear in recent years, nearing 100 Crunch locations and securing a $350 million strategic investment from Sixth Street last year — is moving into the boutique fitness market.

The group has signed a multi-unit agreement with Yoga Joint for 25 studios across Florida, and will bring the infrared yoga franchise into Texas for the first time. Notably, CR Fitness’ Crunch McKinney location was the first in the system to feature a dedicated reformer Pilates studio, perhaps an early tell of its boutique ambitions.

CR Fitness CEO Tony Scrimale said the group set out to enter boutique fitness but was deliberate about the partner it picked.

“As we explored different concepts, Yoga Joint stood out to us,” he told Athletech News. “We believed their brand and product, combined with the team and operating culture we’ve built, could be a powerful combination. Our commitment to 25 locations comes from that belief. We see an opportunity to take what Yoga Joint has created and pair it with the operational experience, people and growth mindset our team brings to the table.”

Yoga Joint raised $5.5 million in April led by Port Street Ventures, whose portfolio includes OneLife Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Barry’s Bootcamp and UFC GYM. North Castle Partners managing director Jon Canarick, who also serves on the boards of Crunch Fitness, SLT and Therabody, also made a minority equity investment in Yoga Joint through a friends-and-family round. He now serves on Yoga Joint’s board of directors alongside founder Paige Held, CEO Bernie Zarco and board member David Lopez.

It’s CR Fitness’ first franchise investment outside the high-value, low-price space. Scrimale added that the move is as much diversification as expansion.

“In franchising, there eventually comes a point where available white space becomes more limited,” he said. “We have a team that has performed at a very high level within Crunch, so the question became: how do we take that same team, culture and desire to win and challenge ourselves with something new?”

And Yoga Joint may just be the beginning.

“We’re not done,” Scrimale said. “If we can prove that our model and our team can successfully operate across multiple fitness concepts, we believe that can open additional doors for us over time. I also expect other successful franchise operators will look at similar opportunities to diversify as they continue to grow.”

Yoga Joint features Flow, a 60-minute vinyasa-style yoga class and FIIT, a 45-minute strength and cardio conditioning class using free weights and resistance bands.

“We are 50% yoga and 50% fitness,” Yoga Joint CEO Bernie Zarco told ATN earlier this year.

Yoga Joint studios opened throughout 2024 averaged $1.84 million in volume, with mature locations topping $2.4 million, according to the group. It’s also been on a signing spree, with recent multi-unit agreements in New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, Boston and New York.

The deal with CR Fitness runs counter to the reformer Pilates boom that has dominated boutique fitness, suggesting some in the industry see room to grow beyond the reformer.

Yoga Joint has drawn the attention of seasoned fitness veterans; other investors include Alex Alimanestianu, an angel investor and former CEO of Town Sports International, and Anthony DiMaggio, vice president of retail development at Vuori, who previously held leadership roles at SoulCycle and Equinox.

Adam Shane, the former chief development officer and executive vice president of operations at Barry’s, acquired Yoga Joint’s New York territory franchising rights and is aiming for 15-plus locations across New York City and surrounding markets — including Westchester, Long Island, Greenwich, Connecticut, Hoboken and Jersey City — by 2030.

While Yoga Joint first looks to expand across the U.S., founder Held indicated an international presence could be in the cards.

And Yoga Joint isn’t the only heated-yoga brand expanding as the reformer dominates headlines. CorePower Yoga — the nation’s largest yoga studio brand and now led by a new CEO — announced a new Manhattan location in the Gramercy neighborhood, part of a luxury residential development with Naftali Group, with its own heated yoga and strength classes slated to open by year’s end.