Barre Bee Fit opening new studio in Plymouth Road Plaza

After spending ten years in the corporate world, Ann Arbor native Adrianne Madias was looking for a more satisfying career. She found it when she met some women in Chicago who were starting a new fitness business, Barre Bee Fit.  "I was already doing to a ballet barre class at the time. It's very addictive and very effective," says Madias, who opened the city's first Barre Bee Fit on E. Washington in 2011. "They had just opened the year prior, and we decided to use Ann Arbor as a test market. We've expanded to about ten different locations now." Ann Arbor will soon be added to that list of growing Barre Bee Fit locations a second time, when Madias opens a new location in the Plymouth Road Retail Plaza, which opened with names like Starbucks, Big Salad and DFCU Financial in March. The 2,500 square foot studio will take up about a third of the development's second floor. "I noticed there's not anywhere for women, or anyone, to get a great workout on this side of town," Madias says. It's lacking in group fitness. When I saw the space being built, I knew immediately it was where I wanted to open another location."  Barre Bee Fit is a workout concept that combines Pilates, dance and yoga with a ballet barre-based workout. New to the Plymouth Rd. location will be a high tech audio and lighting system that Madias says will turn the 60-minute workout into an experience. Music and lighting will automatically ebb and flow with the progression of the class.  Madias is currently in the middle of building out the space and plans to open the new studio in January, and will soon announce a grand opening date. Initially, she plans to employ three to four instructors and two front desk employees. Source: Adrianne Madias, Barre Bee Fit Writer: Natalie Burg