RICHMOND, Va. — A city neighborhood known for its breweries and bar-arcades is about to get a “barre” of a different sort.
City Barre is preparing to open this spring at 1404 Belleville St. in Scott’s Addition.
The fitness studio will offer barre classes – workouts that feature a combination of Pilates, yoga, ballet and calisthenics.
Behind City Barre is Gretchen Stumpf, a Richmond local who’s been teaching at other studios in the area for years, including the former Richmond Barre Studio in the Libbie-Grove corridor and most recently at Boho Cycle Studio.
Stumpf, whose fitness roots are in running and high-intensity interval training, said she was initially resistant to the idea of trying barre.
“I was like, ‘Barre? Is it stretching? What goes on in there?’” she said. “But I tore my hamstring a few years ago, so I slowed down on running and had a friend who convinced me to go to a barre class. I tried and after the first class I was like, ‘Yes, I get it now.’”
Stumpf’s professional background is in finance and supply chain management. She began planning to open her own barre studio about a year ago. After looking around the Fan and some other neighborhoods, she opted for Scott’s Addition.
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