Crunch Fitness is expanding and struggling in the Valley. Here’s why

Crunch Fitness, a chain gym, appeared to be both expanding and struggling at the same time in the Rio Grande Valley recently, but the seeming contradiction is a result of franchising with different owners. 

Each year, the U.S. Small Business Administration guarantees dozens of loans underwritten by local banks or credit unions to first-time or serial entrepreneurs, many of whom open franchise retail locations — whether it’s an indoor gym like Crunch Fitness, a KFC fried chicken restaurant, or a burger/ice cream shop like Dairy Queen. 

Massive brands are a staple across the Valley retail plaza landscape; notable consumer brands often help local franchise owners secure high-profile plaza leases and ensure lenders can underwrite loans to small businesses to launch or expand. 

Sometimes those brand stores are corporate-owned, from Chipotle Mexican Grill to Starbucks, Dutch Bros Coffee, Sweetgreen, Cracker Barrel, and Panda Express, but many are franchises, which means that local independent entrepreneurs own and operate the business — often multiple locations — and pay the corporate brand a percentage of gross sales each month.