Five women-owned businesses are creating a one-stop shop in Spirit Lake | Siouxland Life

Allure & Co. and The Lofts are a group of unique businesses, working together to serve the Spirit Lake community and the summer Okoboji visitors.

Visitors can get a massage before their hair appointments, get coffee before shopping or pick out a few new pieces of home décor after a yoga class.

When Jen Pruss moved to Spirit Lake in 2012, she rented a small studio space for her photography business. After seeing significant growth, she bought a larger space and began moving towards interior design and retail by opening Allure & Co.

She had friends who wanted to start their businesses, so she welcomed them into the new space and it grew from there. In 2019, Pruss bought the current building. At the time, the third floor had empty apartments, which were gutted and remodeled into business spaces.

Currently, The Studio Yoga & Barre, Sono Therapeutic Wellness, an interior design studio and Wild Roots hair salon are upstairs, and Allure & Co. and Café Esteam are downstairs.

The Lofts are filling a void in Spirit Lake. Pruss said when she moved to the area there wasn’t a place to shop for cute gifts or clothes. She also felt there was a need for a younger type of business in a boutique setting.

“Bringing that bigger-city feel to the smaller town,” she explained. “There seemed to be a lot of younger women like me who really wanted those things.”

Pruss said the businesses complement each other well.

Allure & Co. offers contemporary apparel and home décor with interior designing services.

Sono Therapeutic Wellness, owned by Danielle Pavelko and Christina Syharath- Bradham, offers therapeutic massages, yoga therapy and wellness therapies.

The Studio Yoga & Barre, owned by Amanda Jorgensen, offers classes in yoga barre and aerial silks, as well as paddleboard yoga on West Lake Okoboji in the summer.

Wild Roots, owned by Breanna Zigrang and DeLesa Jeanblanc is a modern hair salon offering a variety of techniques and new trends to help people feel their best.

Café Esteam owned by Alexis Powell, is a classic coffee shop offering made-from-scratch baked goods and a variety of coffee beverages.

Every day, Pruss said, one of the business owners is asking a question or trying to find ideas, and the women work together to build their businesses and grow.

Amanda Jorgensen opened The Studio Yoga& Barre four years ago in Spirit Lake at Pruss’ second businesses space, before they moved to the current space.

“Jen is probably one of the most generous and intelligent business women I’ve ever met,” she said.

Bre Zigrang with Wild Roots echoed the statements of the others, saying they all benefit from each other, creating a welcoming spot for women and men to relax and enjoy their day.

The environment is uplifting, Zigrang said, and the entire team roots for each other and care for each other.

“It’s not very often you do that with that many women and have it be that good,” Jorgensen said. “It’s often too good to be true.”