Greater Sayville coverage is funded in part by
The Shed, your scratch kitchen for brunch and dinner daily at 21 Main St. in West Sayville.
The world’s largest indoor cycling concept is coming to Long Island’s South Shore with a brand-new Cyclebar location that’s all set to open Aug. 8 in Holbrook.
“It’s built. We are staffed and ready to go,” said Courtney Bonanno of Sayville. “And we can’t wait.”
Courtney and her husband, James, also an owner of Long Island’s Tap Room bars and restaurants, are the newly minted franchisees for the location, which will be the third on Long Island.
The other Cyclebar spots are in Garden City and Huntington, but they’re run by different ownership groups.
The new spot will be located at 5725 Sunrise Highway in the Stop and Shop shopping center.
Deal Alert: From now through July 29, members can join and get a 20% off discount for life.
— email [email protected] or simply DM over Instagram for details
Quick to pivot
You might have noticed the location is billed as Cyclebar Sayville.
That’s because the original studio was supposed to open on Montauk Highway in Sayville. But those plans stalled due to permitting issues involving the shopping center where the owners had signed a lease.
So the Bonannos pivoted to the much larger Holbrook space.
“It’s definitely much bigger,” said Courtney. “The studio itself is a lot bigger. Just the whole thing overall is much bigger. The ceilings are higher, the cycle theater is larger.”
And given that the space was previously a dance school, “we had lots of flexibility,” she said.
“Because it was already conducive to being a gym,” Courtney added. “It also allowed for a cycle theater with stadium seating. So the bikes are on tiered, elevated surfaces, which we never could have done in the prior space.”
They are also anticipating the Whole Foods that’s opening in the new Shops at Sunvet plaza immediately to the east, which should only help drive business and memberships.
“This was actually the location we originally wanted, but they weren’t leasing at the time,” James said.
Jermain Wallace (L) joins husband-and-wife team Courtney and James Bonanno as the general manager of the new Cyclebar location that’s opening Thursday, Aug. 8, at 5725 Sunrise Highway in Holbrook.
How it happened
Courtney said she fell in love with the concept while visiting her sister in Florida, who had moved there in 2020.
“It was a hard transition for her,” Courtney said. “She had three small kids and didn’t know anyone. She ended up joining a Cyclebar and found her people. She found her friends, her community and was loving the experience.”
Then her sister became an instructor and invited Courtney to Florida for classes.
Courtney took to the concept, too.
To say the least.
“I was obsessed,” she said.
Upon learning the only Long Island Cyclebar at the time was in Garden City, she and James decided to bring one closer to home.
The couple also has two young children.
“I had my daughter a year and a half ago, stopped working, and I was definitely working to really ignite that light in me again,” she said. “Like I see in Jamie with his restaurants.”
Why Cyclebar?
As her sister found in Florida, Cyclebar is about community first.
And all walks of life coming together.
“I loved that I could do this at any level of my fitness journey, and at any age, whether you’re a college athlete or my mom, who can enjoy it and feel good about herself and just feel good,” she said. “It’s such a variety of people this could be beneficial for.”
On the business end, having the benefit of a massive, global company behind them was a huge plus for the couple.
Cyclebar, with more than 380 locations sold, is owned by parent company Xponential Fitness, which acquired Cyclebar in 2017 and also owns Pure Barre and Club Pilates.
“It’s the largest indoor cycling franchise in the world, and just the support and knowledge you get from partnering with them and getting a franchise with them is huge, with national partnerships with LuLuLemon and Celcius, which are huge brands,” Courtney said. “They just have so much to offer owners and members.”
And, she says, the cycling experience can’t be compared to a spin class at the local gym.
The instructors are highly trained and specialized, as are the classes, and they are offered all times of day, seven days a week, for all ages and fitness levels.
The Holbrook location has 13 instructors all ready to go, including a general manager and lead instructor. They’ve all been certified through Cylcebar’s corporate training bootcamp program.
“We’re excited about the new space and opening and getting all our members and prospective members in and riding!” Courtney said. “It’s going to be such a great thing for the community.”
