A former movie theater in west Fort Worth that’s been closed since 2018 will soon be home to a cutting edge new gym. Called Westwood Fitness, it’s an independently-owned concept that will open in the former Ridgmar Movie Tavern, located at 6801 Ridgmar Meadow Rd. near the Ridgmar Mall.
Westwood Fitness is from Matthew Haynes, an entrepreneur and fitness buff who currently owns Crossfit Westwood, a crossfit facility at 608 S. Jennings Ave. he opened in 2018.
The new facility will include the popular CrossFit group fitness classes that have become their bread and butter, but they’ve outgrown their original space, and Haynes also wants to offer more services including a fully equipped strength and conditioning space for traditional lifting, plus recovery amenities such as a nurse practitioner and physical therapist on site.
The space will also incorporate a second business called Climate Change, which will offer saunas and cold plunges — a buzzy treatment where you submerge yourself in icy cold water to improve circulation and boost the immune system.
Construction has already begun on the former theater which had been in business since 1987 — first as a General Cinema, until it was acquired by the Movie Tavern chain in 2002. It closed in December 2018, after the Movie Tavern chain was acquired by Milwaukee-based Marcus Theatres. (There are still three former Movie Tavern locations open in Fort Worth and Denton.) The space had been vacant ever since.
Crossfitters crossfitting at Crossfit Westwood.Crossfit Westwood
Success in the workout field can be challenging, but Haynes has a lifelong and infectious passion for fitness.
“I wanted to own my own gym ever since I was a sophomore in high school,” he says. “I began working at my first CrossFit gym called in McAllen and I have been coaching ever since.”
“My wife and I moved to Fort Worth in 2017 for her residency and we were going to be here for the next five years,” he says. “I brainstormed the idea of opening a gym and felt like there was space for a ‘High End CrossFit Gym’ where everything was nice and new, with air conditioning and nice amenities. My goal is to keep things new and constantly improving.”
The new facility will open in spring 2026, whereupon he will close the original location.
“We have a good membership — people stuck with us through the pandemic,” he says. “The new location is about 8 minutes west and will hopefully be convenient for our current members as well as accessible to more people from Fort Worth and Aledo.”
“To continue evolving and improving as a business, we need more room to do bigger, better things,” Haynes says. “After seven years of running a gym and building this community, I’m confident that we’re ready to take this next big step forward.”