A Nordic Spa in Oxford County? Terra Nova Therapy, Spa & Café near Hickson just might make it happen.
Jodi Pendry has owned and operated a massage therapy clinic since 1993 and recently opened Terra Nova Spa Therapy in Oxford County. Her next goal? A full Nordic Spa near Hickson, ON.
“The closest Nordic Spa is located all the way up in Collingwood. When I moved out here 8 years ago (Jodi and her husband have a dairy farm on the 16th Line near Bright) I just didn’t have the time to make that drive to get away. I jokingly told my husband that I guess I would have to open one up here, but then thought we would do it.” The next step was to find a property suitable for the project that could receive local planning approvals. “We were starting to wonder if we were ever going to open until we were able to purchase this site in August of 2017. We opened up earlier this year.”
COVID-19 then arrived and forced the closure of the spa operation but Jodi took it in stride and decided to open an outdoor café on site, something that became very popular with locals.
“It wasn’t in my original plan, but when the virus closed my doors I came up with the idea.” She was able to get the thumbs up from public health, had an electrician and plumber in and out and her husband did the carpentry work needed. Within 5 days Jodi was serving food and drinks to a consistent flow of happy customers. “I have a really good group of local girls helping me to run it, then I started back as a therapist in June when the government lifted the closure.” Em’s Bakery will be opening on site soon and will be operated by Emily Danen, a recent culinary graduate from Oxford County. The café has moved indoors with the arrival of the fall.
Terra Nova has received a $1000 Rural Oxford E-Business Grant. Jodi says that money has gone into improving her online presence including being able to book spa appointments and pre-paying for services. “This allows us to offer a no-contact payment option for our clients and having the option to book online for all of our services is great for our customers.”
Jodi has also organized a Christmas Market on December 4th and 5th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Local vendors will be selling their holiday wares from the sheds that are for sale on the property, something Jodi says will help with social distancing. Donations for local mental health programs will be accepted along with non-perishable food items for local food banks.
Terra Nova is located at 596145 Hwy 59 North, just south of Hickson. All of the services they offer can be found on their website at www.terranovatherapy.com.