The Z Spot Moves to the Back Bay

Working on the new space. Photo provided to bostonmagazine.com

Lena Andrade, the owner of The Z Spot—Boston’s first Zumba-only studio—didn’t want to leave the South End. In fact, she was ready to sign a long-term lease and even had renovation plans in mind.

The location of her beloved first studio was right above the 105-year-old J.J Foley’s, a South End institution that is known for its standing-only bar and delicious food. It’s also the kind of bar that Bono can walk in after performing at the Garden and grab a drink without being bombarded. But, when Andrade went to resign her lease, she was met with disappointing news.

“We actually found out earlier this summer that our landlords weren’t renewing our contract,” Andrade says. “It was a shock because we were ready to sign a long-term lease and do renovations. We found out that our landlord, J.J. Foley’s, is expanding. They are going to expand and turn the second floor where we were into a function space.”

While that’s great news for bar patrons, it left Andrade without a space to continue pursuing her passion. Fortunately, she quickly found a new space right on the Symphony/Back Bay border on Mass. Ave in a spot formally used by the Boston Conservatory. The new location has four rooms and will allow Andrade to add other options to the Zumba lineup, such as bootcamp and yoga.

“We will still have that central focus of Zumba. We offer seven or eight different types of Zumba,” Andrade says. “We are going to expand into yoga, Pilates, bootcamp, and also plan to partner with dance organizations. My vision is to make it a community arts center.”

The studio is operating at the old location through the end of the month, and will be making the permanent move to Mass. Ave October 1. Test classes at the new spot are going on during construction.

181 Mass. Ave, 2nd fl; 617-338-7768; thezspotboston.com