Courtesy / Melissa Lizotte/Bangor Daily News
Having seen the success of his gym business in Caribou, Andre Rossignol is fitting up a second facility in Presque Isle.
Updated: July 31, 2023
Aroostook County native starts gym business in Caribou, expands to Presque Isle
Courtesy / Rossignol Performance & Fitness
The Presque Isle location for Rossignol Performance & Fitness, seen here in a rendering, will be nearly double the size of the business’s first facility in Caribou.
Growing up in Van Buren — in Aroostook County’s Saint John Valley on the Canadian border — Andre Rossignol had a love for sports and training.
Graduating from the University of Maine Presque Isle, he and his wife, Hannah Rossignol, started a gym business in Caribou.
“I developed a passion for business," he said.
Now age 24, he lives in Biddeford and works for Maine Realty Advisors in Portland as an associate specializing in the northern Maine commercial real estate market.
With Caribou in place, he is getting set to open a second gym, this time in Presque Isle.
“There were lot of people from Presque Isle talking to me about how, if I were to open a similar facility there, they thought it would do well,” he said.
Caribou
During his time in college, Rossignol was a captain of his college soccer team and also played basketball. He is an avid fitness enthusiast and became a certified trainer, earning enough of an income to lease a 2,400-square-foot space at 30 Skyway Drive in Caribou and launch Rossignol Performance & Fitness in 2021. His wife is a certified personal trainer.
Courtesy / Rossignol Performance & Fitness
Rossignol Performance & Fitness launched in 2021 in Caribou.
The business started as a barebones training facility, but over time he saw a market in the area for a 24-hour fitness center with general memberships. He borrowed $20,000 and also plowed revenue back into the business to buy equipment such as free weights, treadmills, elliptical and bikes. Today the gym has about 150 members.
Presque Isle
After two years operating in Caribou, he decided to take the leap and open a Presque Isle gym.
A former restaurant at 6 State Road, at 4,400 square feet, was nearly double the size of the Caribou gym. Josh Soley, founder and president of Maine Realty Advisors, bought the property for $180,000 as a cash purchase from Mainely Mexican LLC and gave Rossignol an option to buy it.
The deal was brokered by Maine Realty Advisors and Big Bear Real Estate Co. in Presque Isle.
Courtesy / Rossignol Performance & Fitness
The Presque Isle location for Rossignol Performance & Fitness, seen here in a rendering, will be nearly double the size of the business’s first facility in Caribou.
The building’s interior is pretty open, so little in the way of renovations is needed, said Rossignol. There will be some cosmetics such as new lighting, paint and some modifications to the building. The expected investment for equipment is $80,000. Membership capacity is estimated at 400.
“We should be going by early fall,” he said.
Rossignol manages the business from Biddeford and installed a swipe-care-entry system that allows access 24/7.
“I think I’ve been lucky to ride a wave,” he said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm in the fitness space now. And where I am in Aroostook County, there hasn’t been anyone who’s really tried to be entrepreneurial in the fitness space and tried to open these private facilities. I think there was a need.”
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Anonymous
August 1, 2023
Once I get my knee fixed I plan on checking it out in Caribou. So glad for you both. I know there was a need.
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