Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsGold's Gym in the Dalton Mall is closing Sunday, according to company officials.

DALTON, Ga. — John Franks sat outside Chick-fil-A at the Dalton Mall, eating his lunch and peered into the doorway of Gold’s Gym.

“Is there anyone in there right now? I can’t tell,” he said after being informed that gym is closing.

“I hadn’t heard that,” he said. “They don’t look too busy now, but it’s still early in the day.”

Gold’s Gym, in the Dalton Mall, will close on Sunday. It occupies the large space formerly held by Goody’s department store and is one of the largest spaces remaining in the mall.

“Gold’s Gym Dalton will permanently close effective June 30, 2019,” the company said in a statement. “We thank our members for choosing Gold’s Gym and wish them continued success on their fitness journeys. Members who have questions can contact the Gold’s Gym Dalton general manager, Charles Jaume, at (706) 259-7874.”

The Gold’s Gym manager referred questions to corporate communications when contacted.

Augusta-based Hull Property Group owns and operates The Dalton Mall, formerly Walnut Square Mall. The company is currently renovating and reconfiguring the mall, having torn down the large spaces that housed J.C. Penney and Sears. Hull Property Group bought the mall in December 2016.

“We are actively working with alternative operators to maintain the space as a fitness facility,” said Coles Doyle, marketing director for Hull Property Group in a statement. “The recent renovation of the Dalton Mall, however, allows us the flexibility to reconfigure the space for other uses as well. The ongoing redevelopment of the property has made the Dalton Mall an attractive location for businesses and we remain positive about its future. We will soon be able to announce an additional retailer that is new to Dalton and that will be locating at the mall. We hope an announcement about plans for the re-tenanting of the space formerly occupied by Gold’s Gym space come soon thereafter.”

Some who work at businesses in the mall said that if a new business doesn’t come into the Gold’s Gym space it will have an impact on other businesses.

“It’s (Gold’s Gym) pretty empty around this time. It picks up in the late afternoon,” said Alma Lopez, who works at the T-Mobile store. “Every store that closes has an impact. Every store brings in people. They buy something at that store and when they are here they might see something in another store. They didn’t intend to go in that store, but something catches their eye and they go in and buy it.”

Patricia Hawkins, manager of the shoe and clothing store Journeys, says she thinks the biggest impact of the gym closing will be on GNC, a nutritional supplements store.

“I see a lot of people at the gym walk up to GNC and purchase stuff and walk back to the gym,” she said.

The manager of GNC declined to comment citing corporate policy.

Rob Bradham, president and CEO of the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce, cautioned against reading too much into the gym closing.

“I don’t think Gold’s Gym closing tells us anything about the overall economy or the mall,” he said. “I think it’s just an unfortunate case of one business struggling.”

Dalton City Council member Gary Crews said despite the closing of Gold’s Gym, he is optimistic about the mall’s future.

“I was out there just the other day, and Chick-fil-A was the busiest I have ever seen it,” he said. “I know that Hull Property Group (which owns the mall) has done a good job of improving the looks of the mall, painting it and things like that. I read the other day that the generation after the millennials (those born after 2000) may go back to shopping in stores and not online as much.”