It's been a while since we visited the origin story of Saltville Grotto & Spa, or maybe we never told you at all. Enjoy my ramblings and reminiscing.
Saltville Grotto opened it's doors for business on September 1, 2022 however the salt cave already existed in the Heart of Snellville. Originally the space was opened in 2018 as Serenity Salt Cave & Healing Center, an idea born from the love of holistic healing by then owner BeBe Gibson. Just as the business was beginning to get traction, a pandemic came along and changed the world for everyone. In early spring of 2022, BeBe was faced with personal health concerns and Serenity closed overnight. For those of us who loved the space, we feared that it was gone forever.
Then, in July of 2022, a local entrepreneur and real-estate Guru, Krista Wright noticed that the space had been sitting empty for quite some time. Along with her "left arm", Angie Jarrard, she made an inquiry, connected with former Serenity employee Becky Kiper and poof - Saltville Grotto began it's journey.
It has not been without it's challenges. Business was booming before we knew what we were doing. We received some fairly bad reviews those first couple of weeks, and rightfully so - we were exhausted after the renovations and working 7 days a week - things slipped from our minds and through our fingers.
We finally found our footing and we were off and running. It seemed the people we needed the most walked through the door. Brad Griffeth was our first official massage therapist - donating his spare time to helping us fulfill the requests. Raye Andrews performed the first "Salty Sounds" sound bath in the new space. Her friend Renee Evers came to help her set up for the event and we adopted her immediately. Ren is a massage therapist of many years and thankfully she joined the Saltville Flock later that week. After that, we welcomed (back) Karen Triana - massage therapist & shamanic sound practitioner along with old and new friends - Michael Burke, Denise Foster, Becky Hernandez & Glenda Ivey just to name a few.
Becky was busy figuring out the technical details of running the day-to-day business and Nadine was 8 months pregnant while she greeted and seated guests, answered phones and kept Becky sane. Waylan was born in late October of 2022, the tiniest and cutest baby Flockstar. A few months later, Nadine returned after maternity leave and started facilitating the Morning Restore Yoga classes in the salt cave, which are still going strong today!
Then we welcomed Meg Burton into the flock, a young college student with a quiet personality and killer sense of humor. During her time with us, she completed her degree, managed our TikTok content and went along with all of Becky's silly ideas. (Meg's last day was 8/31/24, just a few days shy of her 2nd anniversary with us. Gosh - we are sure going to miss her!)
Next to join the flock was previous Serenity client, Brandi Sparrow. Becky and Brandi had gotten friendly with each other during the Serenity years. Brandi brings a motherly nature to the Flock, taking care of everyone from the employees to the clients. She also keeps the plants alive.
We then adopted our gentle-man Edwin Jarrard. His quiet demeanor brings a peace to all who interact with him and he keeps Becky in line when she makes a mistake. Locating date typos and incorrect reservations is his superpower.
Since we like to keep the flock a tight-knit family, we embraced Tammy Jarrard with open arms. Tammy makes sure everything is in its place and keeps the space tidy and clean. We often joke that she's our muscle - and thankfully we haven't had to use her as a bouncer yet.
Customer service has been our number one goal. We've work hard and tirelessly to make sure that every person that comes to Saltville Grotto is welcomed with love and compassion. We know that we can't please everyone 100% of the time. We know we aren't everyone's cup of tea, but that doesn't stop us from trying.
I can say 100000% that Saltville Grotto is like no other place on this Earth. It's not just the physical space (which is stunning in it's own right) , it is the people who work there and the people who visit. It is the belief that what we do matters. It is the faith that the business will continue to grow through the toughest of times. It is the hope that if you ever get a chance to visit that you have a relaxing and special experience.
On September 1, 2022, Saltville Grotto opened its doors to welcome those of you that were searching for a quiet place to rest. Today we promise that we will keep moving forward, doing our best to provide you with the best services, experiences and moments of relaxation that we possibly can.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you and we love you to the moon and back. Please come visit us for our birthday celebration on September 14th - Becky will be there with her arms wide open ready to give all the hugs she possibly can.
P.S. I (Becky) really appreciate you reading this far if you did!
