Wellness businesses breathe new life into downtown Valdese building

Two wellness-based businesses have made their way into a downtown Valdese building.

The 201 St. Germain Ave. SW building has been looking for new occupants to fill the other office spaces. ICE Realty owns the building, where ICE Recycling maintains the largest footprint.

Office Manager Lennie Surujbally has recruited new businesses to bring life into the old Alba-Waldensian building.

The two new occupants are SJ Wellness Studio and Sweet Drip IV Hydration Therapy. Space is still available. Contact Surujbally at lsurujbally@icerecycling.com or 828-430-1241.

SJ WELLNESS STUDIO

Owner Sarah Johnson has been a massage therapist for two years, beginning in Lincolnton before her move to Burke County. She began in a rented booth but has had her own space since signing her lease in January.

With the new space, she works closer to home and where her children go to school.

“I love making people feel better,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s de-stressing you from a long day or because of life, we have all this chronic pain. So, trying to get you out of that chronic pain so you can enjoy life because that’s ultimately what we all want to do. I really enjoy being a part of that.”

Johnson specializes in neuromuscular reprogramming (NMR), which involves testing one muscle against another to determine which is working.

“I like to explain it like the co-workers — you have the overachiever co-worker, and then the one that isn’t doing their part for whatever reason. So, you let the overactive one turn off so that the underactive does its job,” she explained.

Another specialty of hers, for women only, is a Hawaiian massage called Lomi, a “nurturing, loving kind of massage.” The massage begins at one end of the body to another with different strokes.

In addition to massage therapy in her space, she also offers on-site chair massages, in homes or businesses.

“The idea behind it is also to let go of the past and step into the future. Step into the journey that you’re supposed to be and let those things that no longer serve you leave,” Johnson said.

She focuses on custom massages tailored to individual needs. The type and frequency of the massages are based on the person’s budget and chief concerns.

“If you know you’re a mom that’s putting food on our table, and you can only come here once a month, perfect, because I don’t want it to be a burden to anybody,” she said. “But also, massage is so important because this is my vehicle. This is what takes me from point A to point B.”

SWEET DRIP IV HYDRATION

By day, Sarah Buff is a nurse practitioner for Frye Hospital. On evenings and weekends, she runs an IV business that offers IV hydration therapy with added vitamins.

This weekend, Buff is settling into her new office space. Before her move, she was working at Divine BeYOUty Spa in Rutherford College.

Buff offers a menu of different IV vitamin drips, depending on your symptoms like an immunity boost or energy. She can administer vitamin shots. Before beginning, she walks her customers through a medical consultation.

Her most popular drip is the Meyer’s Cocktail, which helps with headaches, hangovers, chronic fatigue, anti-aging, cold/flu symptoms, brain fog, and immune strengthening.

“We can also do ones for immune, to boost immunity, fatigue, beauty and youth, some fat burner IVs. All kinds of different things,” Buff said.

She chose the Valdese location because she thought the place was spacious and allowed an opportunity for more foot traffic.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for other business to come in and a lot of foot traffic,” Buff said, “I think it just goes right along with the wellness and health of IV hydration.”

When she started in 2023, she knew IV therapy would be unusual in Burke County, where the concept wasn’t as common as in larger cities.

“The main thing I want people to know is that I can get people in pretty quickly,” Buff said. “This service is not something people really book in advance, because when they need it, they’re either sick or having a lot of fatigue, so they need it pretty quickly. I can usually get people in the next day.”