A new place to relax and take care of yourself is coming to Manitowoc.
Angie Phillip and Micki Virnoche are leasing the former HFM Podiatry and Holy Family Chiropractic building at 601 Buffalo Street, where they are in the process of putting together The Woodlands Day Spa & Retreat.
The duo first started on their collaboration a year and a half ago, when Virnoche, who has worked in the spa industry for over 40 years, was contacted by Phillip.
“I thought I was retiring, and she kindly informed me I wasn’t,” Mickie said with a chuckle. “We quickly realized that there’s nothing like what we’re creating in this area and what a better place for it. On the lakeshore, nestled in downtown Manitowoc.”
Phillip brought forth the idea of creating a place where people can focus on their self-care, a subject she is highly passionate about.
“Taking care of yourself, different types of health care that isn’t just modern medicine, which involves massages, facials,” she explained. “Also, we’re going to be doing health coaching and stuff like that.”
Phillip and Virnoche were looking for a place to start their venture and had several places in mind.
“One day, we were meeting with the owners of this building, and they were showing us a different property. And they happened to mention, ‘Hey, we have one across the street from us. Did you guys ever look at that?’ We knew about the building, and we decided, you know what, we should probably go give it a look,” Virnoche recalled with the sound of saws and drills echoing throughout the building. “Obviously, from what you can hear downstairs, we’re making it work.”
Angie Phillip and Mickie Virnoche
While The Woodlands Spa & Retreat will offer single services like massages, body treatments, or facials, the duo has even bigger plans in the works.
“It’s also a place that you could come and spend your whole day. You can relax, restore, reset,” Phillip explained. “We’re going to have several different amenities and have a steam room. We’re going to have a traditional sauna, infrared sauna, salt room, steam room, red light therapy. Outside, we’ll have some seating in our courtyard. We will also have a hot tub. And that’s where the traditional sauna will be.”
The interior of the building is still being renovated, but Phillip and Virnoche are anticipating a late November/early December opening.
They will start accepting bookings in November as they get closer to seeing their year and a half long journey come to fruition.
More details can be found at TheWoodlandsDaySpa.com.
