One of Calgary’s two Gymboree Play & Music centres that closed down in September has reopened thanks to new ownership and the company’s corporate office stepping in.
The Hawkwood location in the northwest is back in business and parents couldn’t be more excited.
“Oh my gosh you have no idea. I was absolutely thrilled,” Ana Maria Triana said.
New owner Chris Makedonas is also thrilled. He currently owns a Gymboree franchise in Ontario and said he was contacted by head office when the Calgary locations closed.
“We were just talking and seeing that I’m in the Canadian market and am Canadian, we thought, ‘Hey why don’t we step in and see if we can revitalize this place,'” Makedonas said.
The Gymboree Play & Music centre in the southeast Calgary community of Midnapore has not reopened.
The previous owner of both locations partly blamed the closures on Calgary’s slumping economy, adding the downturn caused attendance to dwindle and revenue to drop.
Makedonas told Global News he doesn’t know what the reasons for the closures were, but added he’s in this for the long haul.
“Together we’re hoping to make this work for the families,” he said.
A total of 14 employees worked at the Calgary locations. Makedonas said those at the Hawkwood site will keep their jobs, but he couldn’t speak for the employees of the other centre.
Shannon Strang-Meijer is a long-time employee of the Hawkwood centre who found herself without work after 10 years when Gymboree announced it was closing.
“I was very upset trying to figure out where to transition — what to do,” Strang-Meijer said. “I was broken.”
Now she said she’s ecstatic and looking forward to the future.
Gymboree Play & Music has centres around the world, with most locations individually owned.
Officials at the company’s head office told Global News they stepped in because Calgary has always been a strong market for the company — a market they have been a part of for more than 20 years.
They added they are happy to see the Hawkwood location reopen so another generation of Calgary children can benefit.