When Marc Mastronardi took the helm of luxury wellness brand Equinox in 2024, he jumped into the deep end. With 27 years of experience at department store Macy's, he was no stranger to growth, and that became the driving force behind his strategy. In the last two years, the brand opened 12 new locations in major hubs like Toronto, Seattle, San Diego, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Nashville is next.
In the next several months, Equinox will make its Nashville debut with a 37,000-square-foot gym, spa and coworking space across three stories in the nearly 90-year-old, newly renovated Voorhees Building in the Gulch. It will include traditional gym equipment and weights, heated and unheated yoga, reformer and mat Pilates, a contrast-therapy suite, Earthbar
cafe and locker rooms stocked with Dyson and Le Labo products.
The company initially targeted an early 2027 opening, but Mastronardi said he wants to open "as soon as possible" because of the positive feedback he received.
"There is a high level of excitement that we're here, and what we'll spend the most of our energy on as we open is learning more about what they want," Mastronardi said. "We will evolve quickly, and I think if we do that well, that creates the long-term stickiness and connection to our brand."
He said that there is enough demand in Nashville for more than one Equinox location. Since membership sales began in May, starting at $235 per month, interest numbers have gone "beyond expectations" for the company. Though Mastronardi did not share specifics, he said some members plan to commute from over an hour outside of Nashville to the gym.
There's no set timeline for a second location, but in cities like Boston, Equinox opened a second gym 2 years after the first.
So, what does Nashville have in common with Equinox's other markets? A taste for luxury, Mastronardi said.
Driven by corporate relocations and a favorable tax environment, high-earners have been flocking to Nashville since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. A 2025 report from real estate platform RentCafe stated that the number of millionaires living in Nashville is on the rise. As more people with seven-figure incomes find their way to Nashville, luxury brands like Equinox are viewing the city as a sustainable market for their products. Tennessee is drawing investment from high-end companies like Hermès, Soho House, Le Labo, The Four Seasons, The Ritz-Carlton and more. Plus, the definitive global restaurant guide Michelin recognized Nashville as a leading dining destination in 2025, bestowing Stars for restaurant excellence upon Bastion, The Catbird Seat and Locust.
"Nashville's been on our radar for a really long time, before I was with the company," Mastronardi said. "We're looking for an audience that has that same mindset of a high-performance, luxury lifestyle. This market is a huge player in health and wellness, not to mention all of the other attributes."
The Nashville project became official in fall 2025 when the company registered Equinox South Gulch as an active business entity with the Tennessee Secretary of State, but it began years prior. Developer Somera Road, based in New York and Nashville, bought the Voorhees Building and about 2.6 acres around it in 2019 for $30 million. The company has since amassed a slate of unique business tenants, from Strategic Hospitality's Michelin-Star-winning Catbird Seat and Patterson House to The Blind Barber, a traditional barbershop that transforms into a speakeasy at night.
"We raised some eyebrows when we called our project the 'South Gulch,'" Somera Road Head of Development Andrew Donchez said in 2024. "Some people were skeptical about 'out-of-towners' coming in and coining a new district. But I think it has caught on."
With Equinox South Gulch on the near horizon, Mastronardi said the company is building momentum. Over the next several years, he plans to open 5-10 new clubs a year with one or two in completely new markets. Growth won't stop there, though.
He said the company is also in the process of expanding its diagnostic and biomarker offerings for members.
"Most of our members give us tons of their information, not to mention all the data we have for everything that you do while you're working out with us," he said. "Now, we'll start to package it in ways to tell you what you should do based on how you slept last night and what you ate yesterday. It's not just in our club, it's integrating into your entire life."
Mastronardi said that Equinox members would be willing to share all of their data with the company in exchange for tools to maximize daily efficiency.
"They are highly engaged," he said. "As long as we're giving them something valuable in return."
Business reporter Molly Davis contributed reporting to this story. Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work,subscribe to The Tennessean.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's Equinox opening in Gulch 'as soon as possible': Exclusive
