OTHELLO — The owners of Pillar Fitness, the first business in a long-vacant building on Othello’s Main Street, cut the ribbon Friday and immediately got to work. 

“We’ll be open today after this ribbon cutting – you can come and work out,” said Jesse Dominguez, one of the owners.  

The 12,000-square-foot, two-story gym is the first business but not the last at 110 E. Main St. The Columbia Basin Health Association occupied the space from the mid-1970s to 2017, according to a previous Columbia Basin Herald story, but it been vacant since. 

The building caught the attention of Othello entrepreneur Angel Garza, who purchased the building in 2023 with three of his children, their families and business partners.  

Angel Garza said they had a possible tenant; administrators of the Mid-Columbia Libraries, which operates the branch in Othello, wanted to expand. 

“We had the library interested in opening up a spot, and that’s what got me motivated,” Angel said.  

The library’s moving date is still to be determined, but it will be next to Pillar Fitness, he said. One tenant wasn’t enough to fill it, however, and the question of possible uses for the rest of it went to Angel Garza Jr.  

“I was tasked to come up with layouts for the entire building,” Angel Jr. said, and one of the possibilities was a gym. 

“Our family, we’ve been fitness fanatics for a long time,” he said. “We designed it ourselves, 100%. We use Columbia Fitness out of the Tri-Cities to supply our equipment.” 

The substantial space allowed expansion into fitness amenities otherwise unavailable in Othello. Pillar Fitness includes a juice bar – it was doing a brisk business Friday – rooms for classes and instructors for those classes. The staff also includes personal trainers.  

“We have everything from cable machines to free weights, to plate-loaded machines, and what they call a torque system,” Angel Jr. said. “We have separate rooms where you can get your calisthenic circuit, like almost kind of a cross fit-type workouts. Cardio is sectioned off separately. There’s a lot you can do.” 

One of the current trends in fitness is a recovery room, with equipment and activities to help people get ready before a workout and cool down afterward. 

“We have a (recovery room) that we provided because we know recovering is such a crucial thing to the fitness industry right now, (and for) health in general,” he said. 

That includes chairs that provide cold and heat therapy, massage equipment, a sauna and baths for a cold plunge. That’s a short bath in cold water, which is designed to help muscles recover after a workout.  

“We thought, ‘You know, the town is growing,’” Angel Jr. said. “We just thought we’d bring that.” 

Angel Garza said there are plans in the works for other parts of the building.  

“The eastern part of it is seven offices that are for people who don’t to work at home, they can rent an office. In the center section, we’ve got three 2,000-square-foot units,” Angel said.  

Those businesses include a hair salon, a clothing store and cosmetic treatments. A restaurant is planned for an upstairs section overlooking First Avenue, scheduled for late 2025. 

“I think by June we’ll have 75% of the building full,” Angel said.  

    Pillar Fitness co-owners Angel Garza Jr, left, thanks the community of Othello for its support, with his wife and fellow owner Lauren, right and co-owner Jesse Dominguez, center, listen.
  

    A customer inspects the free weight section of the new Pillar Fitness in Othello during Friday’s open house.
  

    A Pillar Fitness employee pours smoothies at the juice bar during the grand opening.