Real Hot Yoga opens in Fanwood’s SoHo building near train station

Real Hot Yoga has taken one of Fanwood’s most visible addresses, opening at 282 South Avenue, Suite 101, in the SoHo building directly across from the Fanwood train station. That is the kind of placement that matters in boutique fitness: it puts the studio inside a commuter corridor, not tucked away as a destination stop, and it gives the borough a new business that fits the daily rhythm of the station area.

The opening lands inside a mixed-use project with a clear downtown redevelopment logic. The SoHo at Fanwood Station building received Planning Board approval on November 18, 2020, and includes 49 market-rate units, 9 affordable units and retail and amenity space on the ground floor. Fanwood Station itself dates to 1874 and is the oldest train station in Union County, which helps explain why the borough keeps leaning into transit-oriented growth as part of its downtown strategy.

Real Hot Yoga is owned by Matt and Alex Delaney, and the borough noted that Matt Delaney was born and raised in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood area. That local connection gives the opening a different feel from a faceless chain rollout. Mayor Colleen Mahr, Councilwoman Gina Berry and Faith Delaney of the Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce were among the names tied to the ribbon cutting, underscoring that Fanwood is treating this as a downtown business win, not just another fitness lease.

The studio itself is built around a more exercise-forward hot-yoga model. Real Hot Yoga describes its classes as fitness-based and challenging, with formats including Hot Power Yoga and Hot Tone & Sculpt Yoga. The Fanwood room is heated to 95 degrees, and the studio is also pushing a new-client intro offer plus a one-week pass for out-of-town visitors. Fanwood says the location offers a wide range of classes and styles for all levels, along with yoga accessories, apparel and shower facilities, which makes it easier to treat the space like part of a workday routine instead of a special trip.

That is the bigger story here. Real Hot Yoga has been expanding as a franchise brand, with a 2023 industry report putting it at 15 locations, including six company-owned studios, after its first franchise was awarded in March 2021. The company opened its first location in Knoxville in 2012. Fanwood’s opening suggests the smarter growth play for hot-yoga operators may be shifting toward transit-adjacent suburban downtowns, where visibility, repeat visits and commuter convenience can outperform the old destination-wellness model built around parking lots and one-off appointments.