Sisu Sauna Studio’s sauna beds, or “pods,” are behind hanging wooden doors.
Rene Hernandez stands inside Conga Latin Food’s new location inside Mission on Main. Conga, which specializes in food from El Salvador, has been nearby at 207 E. Main St. since 2004.
Sisu Sauna Studio opened last Tuesday in the Mission on Main building.Conga Latin Food and Alex’s Thai Food & Sushi Bistro were scheduled to open on Oct. 10 John Wise’s new, four-story, 75,000-square-foot apartment and retail building named “Mission at Main,” adding a new flavor to one of Chattanooga’s fastest-growing neighborhoods.
They join a nail salon and a sauna studio as the commercial leasees in the building at the corner of Market and Main streets which used to house the Union Gospel Mission’s homeless shelter.
“They’re all local businesses,” Wise said of the new building’s tenants. “That’s nice.”
He is still looking for a tenant to fill the space right at the corner of Market and Main.
“I’d like to get another restaurant,” he said.
And, all but two of the Mission at Main’s 66 apartments have been rented.
Conga Latin Food, which has operated since 2004 a few blocks away in a brick building at 207 E. Main St., won’t have a parking lot like it did down the street, but co-owner Rene Hernandez is counting on more foot traffic in the new location.
“It’s great for us,” said Rene Hernandez, who runs Conga along with his brother, Alex Hernandez, and their mother Eva Rodriguez. “It’s a lot bigger here. Nicer.”
Alex’s Thai Food & Sushi Bistro is an offshoot of Thai Smile at 219 Market St., a block away from the Tennessee Aquarium. Alex Soommart, Thai Smile’s former owner, will run the new restaurant.
“Alex is my uncle,” said Vicky Num, the owner of Thai Smile, which has been in business for 11 years.
Nailworks Main Street is due to open in about a month; it’s a partner salon to the Nailbar at 250 Velma St. behind the Big Chill and Grill in North Chattanooga.
“That’s my second location,” said Hannah Nguyen, Nailbar’s owner. “I’m very excited about the new location.”
Sisu Sauna Studio, which has infrared sauna beds on which customers can spend 30 or 40 minutes sweating before stepping into a 45-degree cool-down room opened last Tuesday.
It’s possible to burn up to 600 calories in a sauna session, said Sisu employee Tiffany Owens.
“It feels like you ran a marathon,” said Owens, who cited detoxification and stress relief as some of the other benefits of using a sauna.
Email Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com.