A respected beauty and wellness insider who came up at Aveda and has run the successful Spot Spa in Minneapolis for 20 years, Nell Rueckl is taking her business—and the Twin Cities spa scene—to the next level with the new Watershed Spa, first in town to capitalize on the Japanese communal bathhouse trend that’s a fixture on the coasts. She spent more than two years and nearly $3 million turning the old Soap Factory art space (and before that, actual factory) near St. Anthony Main into a state-of-the-art facility that includes traditional treatment rooms, space for holistic services like acupuncture and vibrational sound healing, and an entire floor dedicated to water-based experiences: hot tub, sauna, steam room, and cold plunge—what Rueckl describes as the hot-cold restorative cycle. “I believe the moment is right to bring people together,” she says. “One thing we all agree on is that we want to feel better and improve our vibe.”

Return to TCB 100 for 2023