Closing their doors

The Lafayette Health Club, one of the few full-service gyms in town, has closed and is liquidating its assets, bankruptcy attorney Rick Keating said.

Keating represents John Robino, who owns L.A. Fitness 24, LLC, Lafayette Health Club’s business name.

The business filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. It owes $25,000 in taxes and hundreds of thousands of dollars more to creditors, according to court filings.

The company’s total assets totaled $1.3 million and its debt totaled $655,550, according to court filings.

Robino originally planned to keep the business open, but that did not pan out, Keating said.

“I know he was trying to generate new membership and keep it as a reorganized business in bankruptcy,” Keating said. “I think at the end of the summer he realized he was not getting the membership he needed to keep it open.”

Keating was unsure when the club officially closed.

On Monday, the health club’s website had been disabled and its phone line disconnected. Robino could not be reached for comment.

The health club first opened in 1978 under a different owner, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website. Robino took over the club in 2000, according to the state.

Along with providing members with gym equipment, the health club also offered group exercise classes, tennis courts and a pool.

Robino also owns Shaker’s Nightclub in downtown Lafayette, but that business is not in danger of closing because a separate company oversees that club.

“L.A. Fitness 24’s only asset is the Lafayette Health Club,” Keating said. “They own 100 percent of the stock in the health club.”

Robino has actively marketed the health club building and land, and will continue to try to sell its assets, Keating said. The bankruptcy is still pending.