The Bay Club, Cupertino’s newest fitness center, held its soft opening July 27 with a for both prospective and current Western Athletics Club members looking to meet other professional minded people or find romance.
The event was co-sponsored by Singles Supper Club, Society of Single Professionals and Western Athletic Clubs with Singles Supper Club owner Laura Lane in attendance facilitating match ups.
Built from part of the in Vallco Shopping Mall, the three level, 70,000 square foot Bay Club of Silicon Valley is the latest construction by Western Athletics. The location at the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and North Wolfe Road in Cupertino’s waning Vallco mall is no accident.
“This club is similar to another club in Marin where we took over an old JCPenney, which was also in a fading mall,” the VP of marketing Annie Appel said. “After opening, the mall began to see increased traffic.” Appel added that she hopes the club will help revitalize Vallco.
Members and guests were served beer and wine with paired meats and cheeses in addition to the always popular guacamole and chips.
After a tour of the club’s amenities (lockers with USB chargers) the singles were fed sushi by Michi Cuisine in the member’s only lounge and given pick-me-up samples by the club-staffed Starbucks.
Then everyone sat around and watched the Olympic opening ceremony while fiddling with their phones. Typical Silicon Valley, right?
Eventually, singles did mingle either striking up conversation on the tour or while waiting for their sushi and wine.
Dan and Roxanne—who both declined to give their surnames—struck up a conversation during a tour. Dan came to meet like-minded professionals while Roxanne said she came to support her friend, who ended up getting lost on the way and leaving Roxanne to fend for herself.
Debra Schwartz from Campbell said she got an invite from Meetup.com and found the club enticing.
“It’s a great place to relax and chill,” Schwartz said. “I just wish they served wine all the time.”
Schwartz added that while she likes the idea of the club, and finds it remarkable, she wants it to stay in Cupertino.
“I don’t want this to come to Campbell,” Schwartz said. “It will destroy the small family feel.”
William Davis from San Jose, another Meetup.com invitee said the club was “kind of excessive” and would not be interested in a membership.
“It’s a real mystery why it’s here,” Davis said.
Most in attendance did not share Davis’ sentiments. Patti Anderson, a Western Bay Club member, said she found the club to be beautiful.
“It looks quite nice and is in a convenient location,” Anderson said, adding that the connected Starbucks is a great idea. “I love it because I go there [to Starbucks] every morning.”
Anderson’s friend Diane Houston was ambivalent to the siren’s song. “I wouldn’t care if a gym had coffee in it,” she said.
The club offers, among the USB charger lockers, free wi-fi and a Starbucks, a spa, squash courts, saunas, steam rooms and a whirlpool room in both men and women’s lockers, multiple rooms for yoga and organized workouts, a master instructor designed pilates room and an impressive spin-room with Kaiser cycles.
The club opens August 1. Monthly memberships start at $160 for the Cupertino location and $250 for access to all Western Athletics resorts and clubs.
More information can be found at http://www.bayclubsiliconvalley.com or by calling 408-402-7600.
The Singles Supper Club holds events such as cocktail mixers, progressive dinners and dances across the Bay Area. Lane can be reached by her phone, 408-355-3520, or by visiting her site, www.singlessupperclub.com.
