NORTH MANKATO

NORTH MANKATO Menari Body Works

When Olivia Hageman moved to southern Minnesota from California, she loved it–but found one thing missing. The certified massage therapist, traditional style Lomilomi instructor, certified personal trainer and injury prevention specialist was used to working in a luxurious day spa. She wanted to recreate that experience in Mankato.

“I wanted to bring my experience and vision to everyone here. My desire is to pair luxury with holistic care, working with clients to find the source of the issue and have them feel better on a daily basis, not just in the treatment room,” says Hageman.

She brought her dream to life, opening Menari Body Works in 2016. It started out as a small, private practice, and is now housed in its own building with two treatment rooms, a staff of four therapists, sauna and salt room.

“My biggest challenge so far has been navigating COVID,” she says. “We had to move our facility due to COVID operational guidelines in the middle of the pandemic. It was a very busy and challenging October.”

But that was followed by Hageman seeing just how supportive the community around her can be. “My happiest surprise was this holiday season, when we sold out of gift cards for the first time ever! It was so heartwarming to know that our community is invested in supporting small businesses during COVID.”

The passion Hageman has for her work is evident. “Being a traditional style Lomilomi instructor, I have a responsibility to keep Lomi alive, to share with others this ancient healing tradition and perpetuate part of Hawaiian culture,” she says. “I continue to grow Menari in order to serve the community, to bring them a beautiful place to relax, unwind, and attend to body and spirit.”

Menari Body Works 237 Belgrade Avenue Phone: (507) 388-8315 Website: menaribodyworks.com Facebook: Menari Body Works

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PEMBERTON Inspire Health & Wellness

Like so many others, business woman Tina McClain had to pivot when COVID-19 hit in March. McClain opened Inspire Health & Wellness in downtown Mankato five years ago, but due to COVID restrictions, she moved her popular cooking and meal prep classes online. “People are actually doing Zoom classes now, so I prep everything. I deliver it to the houses or the house of the host and we Zoom meet. Everyone can have their own drink and we have neat aprons and do some fun stuff, so it’s been fun doing those too,” McClain says.

Another pivot during COVID was taking her cooking show, of sorts, on the road.

“I have a dual license in the state of Minnesota to prep my meals at a local commercial kitchen, and then I store my meals in my local commercial trailer, so I can sell right out of there,” McClain says. “I have some different pop-ups planned for different towns around the area, and I'm getting going and restructuring from that point, much like how everyone is working their business to make it work right now.”

Working out of her home office, for now, McClain has plans to build her own facility on her hobby farm just outside of Pemberton.

“It will be a commercial kitchen with a full classroom. It will also have some amazing features like picnic tables for people to come out for a peaceful, well-being, calming effect. If there is anything this year has taught me, it is not just balance with what you eat, but it’s about the emotional part of everything, too. I always hand out my balance wheel to everybody. If we don’t learn to find balance and peace, we aren’t going to be successful in changing our eating habits.”

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is McClain’s passion for the business, a tribute to lessons she learned in her own weight loss journey.

“I wanted to be able to do more one-onone coaching with people to help people learn about emotional eating and healthy eating combined,” she says.

Inspire Health & Wellness 15612 631st Avenue Phone: (507) 381-5948 Web: inspirehealthcoach.us Facebook: Inspire Health & Wellness

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TOGETHER WE MAKE DREAMS REAL

Knutson is proud to be part of the Mankato community and continue our commitment to building and enhancing the quality of life in the southern Minnesota area through philanthropic leadership and community partnerships.

MANKATO The Blue Boat

A unique, new dining experience is now open in Mankato, meant to take your tastebuds on a tour of the world. The Blue Boat’s menu is inspired by Dan Buettner and National Geographic’s work 15 years ago that identified blue zones around the world. These blue zones were where people lived the longest, by studying their environment, lifestyles and diet. The Blue Boat basically offers food and recipes that are considered longevity foods, with featured recipes from the blue zone they are highlighting at the time. The Blue Boat will spend two months in each zone. It initially docked in Costa Rica, before moving on to Italy.

The food is only part of the journey.

“The Blue Boat is a gallery/retail and café,” explains owner Julie Johnson Fahrforth. “We highlight artists and musicians from the area - and one could call The Blue Boat an arts bar.”

The Blue Boat is located in the former New Bohemia space in the downtown mall.

“The Blue Boat is a metaphor for the earth and I just wanted to keep it that theme about going around the world. I’m passionate about the arts, music and good food. Things that are good for you. Things that inspire you,” says Fahrforth.

It really is a journey around the world, filling all of your senses with whatever area they are “docked in” at the time. “We are going around the world to the five blue zone areas,” says Fahforth. “From Mankato you can get immersed in the food, art and culture of the area right here at The Blue Boat.”

The Blue Boat 12 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 1710 Phone: (507) 720-0462 Website: blueboat.earth Facebook: The Blue Boat