5 Questions: Kara Layfield, KPL Fitness at Uptown owner, talks about the changes she's seen

For years, downtown Columbus was known for its nightlife. How has the downtown fitness movement changed that?

The fitness movement has added an entirely new dimension to downtown. In the past, most of the area activity was at night and into the wee hours of the morning. While this nightlife still exists, the wee hours of the morning now include the early risers who are intent on starting their day with physical activity.

My first class of the day starts at 5:30 a.m. and, as I open up at 5 a.m. , I am already seeing the runners and cyclists underway with their workouts.

The runners, cyclists, functional fitness enthusiasts and folks walking from work are impacting the area restaurants. Now, instead of just a meat and three, the area menus include all kinds of salads and healthy items; you can even get a gluten-free pizza! This new fitness dimension is amazing and has been a wonderful addition to the community and a positive influence in many ways.

Why did you chose to locate your business downtown?

For a couple of years my husband, Tripp, and I had talked about how great it would be to own a building downtown for my business and maybe even a loft. Then 1234 Broadway sort of fell in our lap and we couldn’t pass it up.

We saw the potential of the fitness boom and jumped on it. We live and breath the uptown life. My husband is a regular customer at Ride On Bikes. We frequent most of the uptown restaurants on a weekly basis. Our favorite thing is to hop on our bikes and ride from home to uptown for dinner. We are super excited to see what the next few years will bring for the 1200 block where KPL Fitness is located.

As a Columbus native, how has this community changed?

Wow, anyone who has lived here for the last 10 years or more has to have seen the many, many positive changes to our community. Columbus has really matured and taken full advantage of the local assets and resources we once took for granted. Ft. Benning has been an extremely positive partner in this process and been a huge economic driver for Columbus through both the booms and the busts. Columbus State has taken us to new heights on many levels.

Now, in addition to the Springer, our cultural assets and opportunities have grown significantly with the RiverCenter, Trade Center and the Civic Center. The Chattahoochee River is now running clean and has become a center piece around which we work and play.

Our own local TSYS, Aflac, and Synovus have become nationally known businesses and are the drivers of the public/private partnerships that make us the envy of other major cities in Georgia. If positive community change were a fitness competition, Columbus certainly has the fastest time of any city in Georgia.

Over four years ago, you lost your closest friend since childhood to cancer. How did Sarah’s death impact you?

I must admit that before Sarah’s death I was living in that time of youthful innocence and a world where death was not an issue for me and my peers.

While we all lost grandparents and knew folks of the older generations who passed away — even my father — Sarah was the first of my close contemporaries to die, and die in a way that most of us young folks associated with “older people.” Sarah was a strong-willed, independent, free spirit. She took care of herself spiritually and physically and she never really worried about too much of anything. Sarah was different from most of us.

Sarah was diagnosed with cancer shortly after the birth of her first child and barely a year after she was married. When she learned she was sick, Sarah decided to address cancer in her way. She pursued a holistic, naturopathic cure for her disease. She closed her business and moved to a commune in upstate New York where they grew their own food.

This was a really hard decision for me to understand. I had to learn how to accept a choice that was counter to every fiber of my being. I had to change my friend’s diaper as she lost the ability to care for herself. While this experience did move me beyond that time of youthful innocence, it also taught me in a very real and direct way how important true friends and family are to you having a complete and fulfilling life.

I learned that everything you believe in will likely be called into question at some point in your life and you need to learn what is truly important to you and what things you need to just let go. Sarah’s death was a really tough time in many ways, but Sarah taught me a lot and for that reason I am truly blessed that she was my best friend.

What is the best kept secret in the Chattahoochee Valley?

Marios! Tripp and I have visited almost every restaurant in uptown numerous times. For some reason we had never made the trek up to the second floor to Marios. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we decided to give it a try — it was amazing. While the decor is dated and the atmosphere is hard to describe, the experience is like going to visit your lost relatives in the Mediterranean.

Sylvia, the owner, greeted us and explained what all the authentic greek entrees were on the menu.

She cooked our meals and treated us like family. The food was made with love and warmth. It was real Mediterranean charm.

This story was originally published January 11, 2015 at 7:27 PM with the headline "5 Questions: Kara Layfield, KPL Fitness at Uptown owner, talks about the changes she's seen."