Touch of Grace Spa
By: Laura Emmons Photos By: Josh Triggs Beryl Wao and Brenda Walker have traveled to many countries together seeking holistic treatments and alternative medicines. Since this past June, they’ve brought their vast knowledge back home to share with our community. Residents of Berkeley County, both women saw an unfilled need for holistic therapies and created the Touch of Grace Salt Cave and Spa. Conveniently located on Foxcroft Avenue across from Martin’s Food Store and next to the Asian Garden Restaurant, Grace Spa is a unique retreat from everyday stress. Touch of Grace Spa and Salt Cave offers services that are rarely found in our region. That’s why they have attracted customers from all over the East Coast. Satisfied guests have come from Tampa, FL, Brooklyn, NY, Macon, GA, all of Maryland, the Shenandoah and Cumberland Valleys as well as residents of the Eastern Panhandle. Services Offered They offer many types of massage therapy, including Swedish, Deep Tissue, Hot Salt Rocks, Pressure Points and Pre/Post-Natal Massages as well as Chair Massage. Their Reflexology treatment can be combined with their Salt Foot Domes for additional detoxification and relaxation. An Infrared Sauna includes Chromotherapy lights. Facials, acupuncture, aromatouch therapy, hand or scalp massages and many other services are available. Their signature therapies utilize the Detox Steamer and the Salt Cave. The Grace Detox Steamer combines steam with herbs to promote detoxification of the body, cleansing of the skin, and relaxation of the mind. The Detox steamer may also reduce inflammation, increase metabolism, relieve upper respiratory symptoms, and aid in weight loss. It is superior to body wraps in the treatment of cellulite and enhances the development of collagen. Increased circulation and blood fl ow, combined with the intensive cleansing of pores through perspiration leave skin smooth, supple, clean and hydrated. Halotherapy The Salt Cave is used for a form of halotherapy, or salt therapy, called ‘dry salt inhalation treatment’. Thousands of pounds of natural salt mined from the Himalayan region of Pakistan have been imported to Martinsburg and used to create the Salt Cave. It mimics the micro-climate of natural salt cave formations in Europe. This treatment has been used in Europe for hundreds of years and arrived in North America in the 1990s. In 1843 Polish physicist, Felix Bocakowski, created the first study on the benefits of halotherapy when he noticed that workers in the salt mines had very healthy respiratory systems. However, documentation regarding the benefits of prolonged visits to the salt caves in Poland date back as far as the twelfth century. The Touch of Grace Salt Cave was designed by North America’s foremost expert on Himalayan salt, Dr....
Cabinet Makers Build on Family Tradition
By Paul Long After 50 years, Mill Cabinet Shop is much more than just a job for Randy Stover. It’s the backbone of his family, and the focal point of his life. Stover began working at the Bridgewater, Va., shop in 1966, while he was still in high school. It became a full-time job in 1971. Today, he’s spending less time in the shop, but he has no intention to retire anytime soon. According to the shop’s website, millcabinetshop.com, Stover’s father, Harry, launched the business in 1959 with two friends, Ray Simmons and Willis Miller. Harry, who had worked in the furniture business in Harrisonburg before founding Mill Cabinet Shop, took over full ownership in 1966. At that time, Randy and his brother Lee began working at the shop on weekends and after school. Through the years, they took on a greater role in the business before eventually taking over. In the summer of 1998, Harry Stover was killed in a car crash at the age of 77. Just six weeks later, Mill Cabinet Shop was destroyed by an early morning electrical fi re.”That was devastating,” Randy Stover said. “We were still kind of reeling from (the accident).” But, in their darkest hours, Randy Stover and his family discovered what a special, tight-knit community they lived and worked in. A group of volunteers showed up to help clean up in the wake of the fire, and then assisted in the construction of a new building. By March 1999, just fi ve months after the blaze, Mill Cabinet Shop was up and running again. “There was a huge amount of community support,” Stover recalled. Rebuilding the shop allowed Randy and Lee to install better machinery and upgrade his equipment. Through the years, the business has evolved considerably, with changes in the equipment used to make the cabinets. Everything is built in the shop and then installed on site. “There’s a lot of attention to detail,” Randy said. Most of Mill Cabinet Shop’s customers are within an hour’s drive. There are several customers in the northern Virginia and Charlottesville areas, and, Stover said, his company has been doing more business in the Winchester area recently. It’s a welcome change from the recession that slowed the housing industry several years ago. “Everywhere is pretty busy now,” said Stover. “It wasn’t like that in 2009, 2010.” Currently the shop has about 20 fulltime employees, including designers, builders, molders and finishers. Even after some recent retirements, there are still employees who have been with Mill Cabinet Shop for as long as 40 years. Stover said he believes in taking care of his employees. Today,...
Mad Monks Coffee Shop
STORY BY BECKY MUTH PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSH TRIGGS A lot of places serve coffee, but Mad Monks Coffee Shop is the only place in the area where you’ll find a menu of coffee blends based on flavor complemented by artisan monastic breads and other delicious baked goods. Mad Monks Coffee Shop is the brainchild of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, a monastery affiliated with the Catholic church. The monastery itself is located a couple of blocks away on South George Street at the former site of the Catholic church in Charles Town, West Virginia. Father Daniel, Father Alban, and Father John are non-cloistered Augustinians, which means they follow the Rule of Saint Augustine. The monks lead a semimonastic life committed to pastoral care. The Fathers dedicate much of their day to prayer, which takes place early in the morning, during the evening, at night, and sometimes also at noontime, and mass during which they use Latin, incense, and Gregorian chants. Beyond that, as long as the primary parts of their day are spent inside the monastery together, they dedicate their time to helping the community with things like teaching, confessions, and spiritual direction. The monks have been together for a number of years, serving in Wisconsin and then St. Louis, Missouri before moving to Charles Town in the spring of 2010. Father John started baking bread about ten years ago, a few years before they arrived in the area. When the retail space at 109 West Washington Street in Charles Town became available, the monastery had the idea to make the bread widely available to the public. When friends outside the monastery expressed a desire to help, the monks decided to go forward with their plans and rented the space. Before opening, they performed an assessment of the inside of the building to know what renovations were required and then the transformation began. If you visited the restaurant or former coffee shop located here in the past, you’ll note that the walls now have a fresh coat of paint. The sunny yellow brightens the interior of the shop and adds to the relaxing, peaceful atmosphere. Kitchen renovations included the addition of two pizza ovens for baking the four types of breads and assorted variety of desserts including fresh scones, chocolate chip cookies, and biscotti. Every Monday they kick off the week with fresh cinnamon rolls. The light breakfast menu, served until 11am, includes egg soufflés with bacon and onion or vegetables, served either as a soufflé or made into a sandwich, and Greek yogurt topped with homemade granola. Lunch is served from 11am until close and offers...
Mikie’s Ice Cream & Green Cow Gift Shop
By Yvonne Butts-Mitchell Photos by: Josh Triggs Marty Boscolo has a distinct claim to fame. He and his wife Dawn own Mikie’s Ice Cream in Greencastle, PA, and Marty is at work 65 to 70 hours each week but that’s not news. That’s often required of a small business owner. What gives him some bragging rights at 179 South Antrim Way is one of the jobs he handles personally behind the counter. It’s a familiar scene and creates an aroma that makes customers crave the result: the sweet crunch of cooled batter that’s been poured onto sizzling griddles, four batches at a time, 30 times an hour. After nearly 30 years in the food business, Marty has honed this daily task to an art form and customers line up at the counter to savor it. “I have personally made over one million waffle cones since we’ve owned Mikie’s,” Marty states with a smile. At the height of ice cream season in the summer months, more than 1,000 waffle cones made by Marty are scooped, filled, crunched and munched each week at Mikie’s Ice Cream. “New customers are always surprised when they walk in here and see our menu,” Marty reports. “I hear them say all the time: ‘This isn’t just an ice cream shop!'” With a long list of sandwiches, subs, homemade soups, fries and sides, the meal choices tell the story of Mikie’s success as much as the words Ice Cream in their business name but ice cream is where it started. “I’ve been working in the restaurant business since I was a kid,” says Marty. “I started in my parents’ restaurant in Fayetteville at 15. We moved to Greencastle when I was only eight so even though the family business was in Fayettville, Greencastle has always felt like home to me.” In the fall of 1987, that feeling of connection led his brother Mike to jump on a Greencastle opportunity. “We always thought it would be great to own a business right here in town,” Marty remembers. When the space became available at Antrim Way Plaza in the fall of 1987, Marty’s older brother Mike opened Mikie’s ice cream. A few months later, Marty purchased the business and kept the name. Marty and Dawn have been the owners ever since, moving only once in 2002 to their current location, an expansion that more than tripled their floor space. “We’ve been so fortunate. Although some years have been better than others, our business has always been growing,” Marty reflects on a business that started out with only 1,500 square feet and a menu limited to soft serve ice...
The Naked Olive
By: Tula Mason Photos By: Josh Triggs WHEN I ASKED business owner Laurah Miller how she came up with the name The Naked Olive, she stated with amusement that the name was settled on over much conversation and many martini’s. As for the logo, which pictures an olive looking both naked and embarrassed, it represents that the merchandise carried in the shop is pure. With this questions answered, our conversation moved on to what inspired her to open a shop centered on oils and vinegars. To this she answered that during a trip to a self-defense show she had a flat tire. While killing time waiting for her car to be repaired, she happened upon a tiny shop that really peaked her interest to with this, what could have been unfortunate circumstance, turned into a dream. The Naked Olive was born. Don’t let the modest name fool you, this place has everything flavorful. Whether you love to cook or just love to eat, this shop that can only be described as rustic-chic, is the place for you. This specialty grocery store located at 87 N Washington Street in downtown Berkeley Springs, WV, truly caters to everyone. No matter if your taste or cooking style is simple or leans more towards the refined style side, you are sure to find high quality edibles that will tickle your taste buds. From the wide assortment of extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars to a lovely assortments of salsas, jams and spreads this quaint shop offers just about anything that your culinary heart desires, right down to the fresh breads/and tasty fine chocolates they carry. The Naked Olive boasts more than 50 flavors of the finest extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) and balsamic vinegars from around the world, each one hand selected by Laurah and available on tap for tasting. If you find something you like, just choosing the size bottle that suits your needs and it will be hand filled and sealed just for you! As the name of the store implies you guessed it, they also carry gourmet stuffed olives. These plump beauties are available in four fabulous flavors and look divine, they even have vermouth-soaked olives if you want some with a kick. Like wise, there are many other products to choose from that you may not expect to see, such as Handcrafted Bourbon Barrel sauces with fun sayings like, “Eat your Bourbon”, and catchy names like “Kentuckyaki” printed on the labels. I must admit that this witty packaging makes me want to give them a try myself. You will also find a yummy selection of Bourbon Barrel Handcrafted...
Brewbaker’s keeps tradition alive
By: Paul Long Photos By: Josh Triggs Perhaps it was fate that led Laura and Monty Rhodes to purchase Brewbaker’s Restaurant when it went up for sale in 2012. But whether or not that was the case, their shared history with the popular Old Town Winchester establishment certainly didn’t hurt. Laura met Monty at Brewbaker’s more than a decade ago, when she was a server and he was a regular customer. Today the couple owns the restaurant located at 168 N. Loudoun St. near the northern end of Old Town. Laura was hired as a server in 2004 and later tended bar while going to school. Monty – whose first job was as a dishwasher at Mutley’s, an earlier incarnation of Brewbaker’s – had managed a restaurant in Middleburg and owned one in Boyce; he was working in wine sales when Brewbaker’s previous owners, Dawn and Bobby Sayre, decided to sell it. “Obviously we all kind of knew about it (being for sale),” Laura said. “And my husband and I kind of talked about – he was wanting to do a shift in his career, and it would be nice to own a restaurant. It would be kind of silly to look for another place when this was where we met, and we knew everybody, and there was always the possibility of someone else purchasing the restaurant and turning it into something different.” According to Brewbaker’s website, brewbakersrestaurant.com, there has continuously been a restaurant at 168 N. Loudoun since 1910, making it possibly the oldest such facility in Winchester. Dawn and Bobby Sayre established Brewbaker’s in 1999 and expanded the dining room in 2007. The restaurant added a banquet facility in 2012, shortly before Laura and Monty took over. Laura Rhodes believes Brewbaker’s has been successful because it appeals to a wide variety of people. “It is a comfortable casual dining experience where we strive to have them leave in a better frame of mind or mood than they came in with,” she said. “I think it’s built a niche in the area of being a place where families felt comfortable in coming to dine, but also singles and people who wanted to go out for entertainment purposes. It fit a lot of different demographics and there weren’t a whole lot of places downtown then. And the owners were fantastic people and made a very strong splash in the market when they opened it.” The restaurant’s lengthy history might seem a little intimidating to some, but Laura Rhodes said she welcomes the challenge, while acknowledging that the tradition does create some pressure. “It’s – I love this word and...
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