Boston fitness company btone Fitness opened its first studio in Maine, in a retail condo, purchased earlier this year at 387 Commercial St. in the Hobson’s Landing building in Portland.
Owned and operated by Cumberland residents and wife-and-husband team, Danielle Elamondon and Todd Keefer, the 1,690 square-foot studio is the brand’s latest franchise.
The brand offers workouts that use customized reformers as a hybrid of Pilates-inspired movements and strength training, according to a news release.
Proceeds collected for classes held Sept. 26 through Sept. 28 were donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine
Fast track
The brand has 25 franchise locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and elsewhere outside of New England including Chicago and Utah. Additional openings are planned in Florida, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
“The company is on a fast track to have close to 40 opened studios by the end of 2025,” said Jody Merrill, the company’s founder.
In 2022, btone grew from seven studios to 10, to 15 in 2023, and to 22 in 2024.
Referencing the Portland market, Merrill said Elamondon and Keefer “are the ideal franchise partners because they’ve been ambassadors for the btone brand for several years, having taken classes when Danielle was searching for a low-impact workout after the birth of their second child.”