Saco has a hefty dose of health and wellness businesses

Need to take some time out for some self-care? Saco has had a recent wave of health and wellness businesses crop up in the city.

From June 2023 to early March, eight new wellness related businesses have opened in Saco, according to Torie Gorman, economic development specialist with the City of Saco.

In October, Judy Stark and Bill Carey opened Healing Waves at a former mill building at 110 Main St. and brought the first Harmonic Egg to Maine. The Harmonic Egg is a wooden chamber that provides a sensory experience, promoting relaxation and stress-release. Inside the egg-shaped chamber the client sits in a recliner and is bathed in colored lights and sound frequencies that are chosen based on their needs.

 

The Harmonic Egg at Healing Waves. PHOTO BY LIZ GOTTHELF

In December, Carey was at a different ribbon-cutting ceremony, showing support for another business in the building, Peace Behavioral Health.

 Peace Behavioral Health, founded by psychiatrist Nicolas Sikaczowski and his wife, psychologist Ashley Shaw, provides psychiatric and psychological services, focusing on individualized, evidence-based care.

Shaw is originally from Virginia, her husband from Chicago, and she said the two of them fell in love with Maine when she was doing an internship in Boston and he was in rotation at Maine Medical Center. The couple bought a home in Biddeford, and have grown fond of the twin city area.

“It’s just been lovely.  We've just really enjoyed exploring all that Saco and Biddeford have to offer,” she said. “I feel like we are in the best place.”

She said she also likes the former mill where their office is located, with the exposed brick walls, and the ability to go to a spa or grab lunch in the same building where they work. The Saco River runs right next to the mill, and Shaw said she sees potential for outside mindfulness walks with clients.

“We are very pleased that Saco has become the wellness hub of southern Maine, when clients visit one of our service businesses, it is an economic benefit to all the other businesses, whether they shop in the retail stores, visit a restaurant or just spend some time enjoying what Saco has to offer, Saco has it all,” said Saco Economic Development Director Tracey Desjardins.

Stefani Sellers moved her massage therapy practice, Ease Manual Therapy, from South Portland to downtown Saco in early 2023. Her business is located on the third floor of what is locally known as the “Atkinson Building” at 209 Main St.  Massage therapy is a natural fit for her, and her family has photos of her as a toddler crawling and walking on her grandfather’s back so he could feel better.

Sellers said she is Maine’s only nationally board-certified massage therapist certified in manual lymphatic drainage. In her office you’ll find clementines instead of candy, and at a February ribbon cutting with the Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce and the City of Saco, she had an array of healthy snacks. Nearby was a model skeleton, welcoming people to Pelleteri Chiropractic, a neighboring business opened in 2023 by Frank Pelleteri.

 

A skeleton greets patients at Pelleteri Chiropractic in Saco. PHOTO BY LIZ GOTTHELF

Immediately following the ribbon cutting for Ease Manual Therapy, local officials shifted to another business on the third floor of 209 Main St. for a ribbon cutting at Great Escapes Massage. 

Great Escapes Massage offers another type of treatment unique to the area – raindrop massage, a technique that involves sprinkling essential oils onto the client like raindrops. Owner Joshua Hauk moved the business from North Street to its current location in January.

 

From left, Saco Economic Development Specialist Torie Gorman, Saco City Councilor Phil Hatch, Great Escapes Massage owner Joshua Hauk, Saco Economic Development Director Tracey Desjardins, and Saco Main Street Executive Director Angie Presby and a February ribbon cutting for Great Escapes Massage. PHOTO BY LIZ GOTTHELF

He said he’s thrilled to be part of a growing community of wellness practitioners in Saco.

“It’s time to take care of yourself,” he said.

Bryan Cloutier opened Breakthrough Physical Therapy  at 199 Main St in June 2023.

“I know what works in PT, and I know what doesn’t work so well. I’m hoping to bridge that gap and improve on the things we’re not doing so well,” he said.

A physical therapist with fifteen years’ experience, he was excited to land a street-level space in Saco’s downtown. He likes the old-school feel of the building, and he was able to design a space that was different from the traditional, hectic medical space. His goal was to create a warm, inviting, almost spa-like environment, where patients get more one-on-one time.

“You should step in here and you should feel relaxed,” he said.

 

Breakthrough Physical Therapy owner Bryan Cloutier and Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim LaBelle address attendees at a March ribbon cutting at Breakthrough Physical Therapy. PHOTO BY LIZ GOTTHELF

At Breakthrough Physical Therapy, there’s a heavy emphasis on manual therapy like cupping, spinal adjustments and needling.

“We use those manual skills to help people lower their pain level so that we can get them to move the way we want them to so they can get back to the things they love to do,” said Cloutier.

Cloutier and fellow physical therapist Sam Methot stray away from the cookie-cutter approach where everyone gets the same treatment. Instead, they sit down with patients, discuss what their goals are, and come up with an individualized plan. Potential clients can come to the office for a free 30-minute discovery visit to do some screenings and determine if physical therapy is right for them and if so, what a plan would look like.

Cloutier moved with his wife to Saco from New Hampshire in 2015, because they thought it would be a good place to live and raise their children.

“I think it’s really rewarding for me to open up a clinic in the community I live in,” he said.

The people he treats are often the people he sees in the grocery store and other places he frequents in Saco. He enjoys the opportunity to spend individualized time with each client, and get to know them.

 “I live in a small town, I want it to feel like that,” he said.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at [email protected].