ALAMO, CALIFORNIA — Bay Area Telegraph reader Nancy B. recently wrote in with a question that plenty of Alamo residents have likely been pondering as of late.
What, exactly, is going into the former Rite Aid at Alamo Plaza?
Nancy had heard that it would become a Fitness 19. Then she heard it was something else. It turns out both versions contain part of the story.
The 17,640-square-foot former pharmacy at 130 Alamo Plaza has been leased to Vim + Vigor Fitness, which plans to turn the space into the first location of a new, more upscale concept called the Vim + Vigor Fitness Reserve Club.
The company is now targeting a December 2026 opening. A temporary pre-enrollment office is scheduled to open Nov. 2.
So, Is It Fitness 19?
Technically, no. The signs will say Vim + Vigor Fitness Reserve, not Fitness 19.
But the Fitness 19 rumor was not entirely wrong.
Vim + Vigor is closely connected to Fitness 19. ENDO Fitness operates locations under both names, and several Bay Area Fitness 19 clubs — including locations in Concord, Pleasanton, Campbell and San Jose — were previously converted to the Vim + Vigor brand.
The operator has said it is now focusing its expansion on Vim + Vigor, a concept it created to expand in a new direction.
So what Alamo is getting is related to Fitness 19, but it is being presented as something considerably more premium.
This Will Be a New Kind of Gym for the Company
The Alamo location will be the company’s first “Reserve Club,” which Vim + Vigor describes as its most elevated fitness experience to date.
Plans call for a substantial collection of strength and cardio equipment from brands including Panatta Sport, Arsenal Strength, Torque Fitness, Life Fitness, Matrix, Hammer Strength and American Barbell.
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The club is also advertising a Himalayan salt sauna, red-light therapy, compression boots, massage chairs, personal training and other recovery-focused amenities.
Vim + Vigor has said members will receive 24-hour access, which would make the club notably different from many nearby gyms with more limited operating hours.
The company is currently offering a founding membership rate of $65 per month to the first 400 members who enroll. According to its Alamo website, the regular price will eventually rise to $109 per month.
A Major Space Will Not Stay Empty for Long
Rite Aid closed its Alamo store in August 2025 as the struggling pharmacy chain moved through bankruptcy proceedings. The closure left Safeway as Alamo Plaza’s only traditional anchor tenant and created one of the most prominent retail vacancies in the community.
Vim + Vigor signed its lease for the approximately 17,640-square-foot space earlier this year.
Interestingly, the new gym will occupy the former Rite Aid itself — not the neighboring 140A Alamo Plaza space that once housed Alamo Express by 24 Hour Fitness. That neighboring storefront has more recently been used seasonally by Adopt-A-Family Bikes.
The distinction may have contributed to some of the confusion surrounding the project.
For Alamo Plaza, the new lease means a very large former drugstore will return to active use barely a year and a half after Rite Aid’s departure. It also brings a major fitness operation back to a portion of the shopping center that previously had a longtime gym next door.
If the company’s schedule holds, residents should begin seeing pre-opening activity this fall, followed by the new Reserve Club’s debut in December.
