A local meditation and wellness center in Louisville will close at the end of June.
Louisville Salt Cave, a “community space for spirituality and self-discovery,” was opened nine years ago at 9800 Shelbyville Road by founder Nicole Bartlett.
“It is with sadness that I announce my decision to close the Louisville Salt Cave,” Bartlett wrote in a June 3 Facebook post.
The Facebook post cited “the debilitating effects of COVID-19” as a factor influencing the decision to close, and Bartlett told the Courier Journal that the pandemic will limit operations until 2023, when they’ll finally be able to return to full operation.
Still, it wasn’t enough. While COVID-19 was a big factor, Bartlett said a lack of awareness and understanding of the business and what it can offer the community was also a factor.
“I started a business in 2015 that nobody had ever heard of,” she says, “so for the past nine years I’ve spent my time educating people on what halotherapy is. We’re a new industry, so there was a learning curve at the beginning.”
The Louisville Salt Cave, the city’s first salt cave, offers salt therapy (also known as halotherapy), which is said to benefit the immune system and relieve symptoms of a variety of health issues, including allergies, asthma and skin disorders, The Courier Journal previously reported.
Halotherapy works by having participants sit in a salt-filled area and inhale air that has been diffused with microscopic salt particles. The Louisville Sale Cave was built using five tons of pink Himalayan salt from the Himalayan Mountains.
According to the company’s website, a 45-minute session costs $39, or $135 to rent the entire cave for 45 minutes.
After battling COVID-19, Bartlett realized she needed a business partner to help educate local residents about halotherapy and the Louisville Salt Caves.
“I’ve been on and off about five five-month deals with people interested in partnering or acquiring me,” Bartlett said, “and the last one fell swooped a week ago. I can’t do this anymore.”
The shop is due to remain open until the end of the month, but Bartlett hopes that someone will buy it and continue to operate it as a halotherapy shop.
Meanwhile, Bartlett said what she’ll miss most about the Louisville Salt Cave is working in a “space that allows for a more peaceful community.”
Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter: @oliviamevans_..
