Some of the best ideas are born not from grand plans, but from a shared sense of loss and the stubborn belief that something beautiful can rise in its place. When the spa where Pete Saarela and Maddie Boo worked closed its doors before Thanksgiving 2025, it left more than an empty space on the map. It left a team without a home. A culture without a vessel. Colleagues who had built something rare—genuine connection, mutual care, and a shared joy in their work—were suddenly scattered to the wind. For Pete and Maddie, that loss stung. But it also sparked something. What if we didn't just mourn what was lost? What if we saved it? The idea wasn't simply to open another spa. It was to preserve the heart of what they had loved about their work, and to build something bigger around it. Something that belonged to Duluth. A place where employees are genuinely valued, where clients feel truly seen, and where the doors open not just to relaxation, but to a deeper sense of wellness and community belonging. Of course, a vision like that doesn't become real on feeling alone. It takes skill, experience, and the kind of quiet confidence that only comes from having done the work. Between the two of them, Pete and Maddie had all of that, and then some. Pete is a licensed massage therapist and graduate of Lake Superior College's massage therapy program with nearly four years of experience, and a gift for reading exactly what a client needs (whether that's relief from chronic pain or simply an hour of stillness in a loud world). But his expertise doesn't stop at the treatment room door. He brings the same attentiveness to operations and team leadership: the scheduling, the standards, the small daily decisions that determine whether a workplace feels like somewhere people actually want to be. Maddie's strengths are a natural complement. Her background in retail and people management gave her fluency in the mechanics of running a team, including budget oversight, labor planning, trend forecasting, and the kind of community engagement that turns first-time clients into regulars. She carries an equally deep personal commitment to holistic wellness, one she's channeled into The Northwoods Apothecary, her own line of hand-crafted products: restorative salt soaks and scrubs, and the essential oil blends that now define The Lighthouse Spa's signature atmosphere. For Maddie, this work has never been just a business. It's a practice. There was one more essential piece. Turning a vision into an actual, open-for-business spa means navigating a world of timelines, contractors, licensing requirements, and a hundred moving parts. That's where Shanna Saarela-Schultz came in. A skilled project manager with a proven track record of bringing complex initiatives across the finish line, Shanna took on the work that happens long before any client walks through the door: coordinating the people, the permits, and the process that transformed an idea into a licensed, functioning reality. Her deep professional network and instinct for logistics gave the team something invaluable: the ability to move. Step by step, the pieces fell into place. The journey isn't without its challenges. But the team found that they weren't alone. The Northland Small Business Association, Downtown Duluth, and a circle of local business leaders offered guidance, connections, and encouragement that proved invaluable at every turn. Duluth showed up for The Lighthouse Spa before it ever opened its doors. And that community spirit isn't just part of the founding story. It is the foundation stone on which this lighthouse stands. The Lighthouse Spa is proud to partner with fellow local businesses to weave a genuine network of wellness across the Twin Ports because we believe that wellness doesn't exist in isolation. It lives in community: in the relationships between neighbors, businesses, healers, and the land itself.