After debuting on the New York fitness scene less than a year ago with a small Columbus Circle studio, national brand Pure Barre is now set to open its second city location, in Union Square, pitting its plies against The Lithe Method’s cardio-cheer-sculpting moves and Refine’s kick-butt pulley system.

“Our clients come from everywhere, even from as far as Brooklyn, and a lot of the requests we were getting were for downtown,” says Leslie Coakley, co-owner of the NYC Pure Barre studios, with Kaitlin Vandura.

The studio is slated to open on September 1 if construction stays on track, and it will be about double the size of its uptown sister. The Columbus Circle studio had little more than a workout studio and a tiny entry area, but Union Square’s will have full locker rooms, bathrooms, more space for sitting, and a much bigger retail area. “It’s going to be more of a flagship location,” Coakley says.

Still no showers, though, which she concedes has to do with the national corporation not quite understanding New York. “Their approach is more ‘get in, get out,’ which is great. But in the Southeast, people are getting back in their cars. Here, they want to go straight to work,” she says.

It’s one of the many New York nuances that corporate headquarters may have to wrap its head around soon, since Coakley and Vandura are clearly on the move. “We’d love to let this one settle, and then we’ll see where the need is next, and definitely go there.” —Lisa Elaine Held