By Tine Roycroft

Businesses and social clubs often try to use the old tag line, “Tired of the same old bar scene? Want to meet new and interesting people without hollering over the din of music? Well, then come and try us!” So you go, you stand around and all you can think of is, “Man, I wish I were at a bar.”

Well, Worcester, you now have a great alternative to the booze bench! Check out Central Rock Climbing Gym when it opens in early April 2009 for an entirely new (and entirely healthy!) way to meet people and learn about indoor rock climbing.

Ed and Joe Hardy, ages 24 and 30, are co-managers, co-owners and brothers. The idea for the amazing new indoor rock climbing gym came when Joe went off to California during college and fell in love with rock climbing. The two had always been athletic so Ed followed suit. But these Worcester boys couldn’t find any indoor rock climbing gyms without traveling to Everett or even Providence, RI. Ed created a business plan for such a place as his senior thesis in college and once he graduated, he and Joe fine-tuned the vision and looked for investors and a place to set up shop.

“Finding a spot was difficult,” said Ed. “The reason there are no rock climbing spots in Worcester up until this point is because you can’t use the warehouses in Worcester. They’re all made out of wood for the most part and the ceiling height is too low. You can end up having an un-ideal location in a building you would have to structurally change and you would end up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars reconstructing the building. And you would have to rent it. Then you would have the fixed asset of the rock wall in a building you don’t own. The landlord could hike the rent. But we found an ideal location at the intersection of 190 and 290.”

Central Rock Climbing Gym is now under construction at 299 Barber Avenue in Worcester. At this time, workers are creating the rock wall, wonderful locker rooms and party rooms. And according to Ed, that’s just the start.

“We’re going to have cardio equiment, Stairmasters, bikes, some weights, televisions,” Ed said. “Rock climbing is a terrific core workout, in addition to working the back and biceps, but we are also going to have yoga and Pilates classes. There will be a huge 2,000 sq ft hang out area where people can come sit down, grab a coffee, have a snack. Bring your lap top because we’ll have free Wi-Fi. And we’ll have a retail area where people can buy things they need to climb.”

Ed and Joe are both looking forward to the April opening and are excited about the many possibilities that lie ahead. They intend to have rock climbing parties, host corporate team building events, have afterschool programs and even have late night indoor rock climbing hours.

So if meeting quality people, expending some calories as you do so, and physically challenging yourself to reach new heights is of interest to you, then be the first to knock on the doors of Worcester’s Central Rock Climbing Gym. Who knows, you might find the “belayer” of your dreams.

For more information, go to www.centralrockgym.com

Photos by Chris Reddy.