New businesses add a ‘twist’ for customers
A Little Twisted Yoga Studio & Gift Boutique, and Bowled Life Café offer healthy options with a twist
By CARL MARIO NUDI
Yoga instructor Grace Briggs and A Little Twisted Yoga Studio owner Nicole Deitrick take the Vrksasana, or Tree Pose, in the new yoga studio at 927 10th St. E., Palmetto.
When Nicole Deitrick was thinking of a name for her new yoga studio, the word “twisted” came to mind because some of the yoga poses put the body in pretzel-like positions.
But that was not the only reason for the catchy name, A Little Twisted Yoga Studio and Gift Boutique.
“Over the years I have talked to many people that were intimidated to try yoga, either because they didn’t feel like they fit in, or felt they were not flexible enough,” Deitrick was quoted in a press release. “I have found humor to be disarming and a great way for people to relax and not take themselves too seriously.
Yoga and Pilates instructor Carol Klein is twisted into a yoga pose in front of the painted mandala on the wall of A Little Twisted Yoga Studio, 927 10th St. E., Palmetto.
“My own humor can be described as a little twisted, so I thought why not create a playful atmosphere with an underlying message of self acceptance?” she said.
Deitrick opened the new yoga studio and boutique on Sept. 19 in the Colonial Center shopping plaza, 927 10th St. E., in Palmetto.
Her yoga studio and the newly opened Bowled Life Café next door will have a joint ribbon-cutting and grand opening celebration on Oct. 19.
Deitrick said the idea of a new yoga studio came about because she needed more space for her massage therapy business down the street, North River Body Therapies, 1415 10th St. E., or U.S. 301, which she opened in 2015.
“We outgrew the space at North River Body Therapies,” she said recently in an interview. “We needed to turn the yoga studio (at that location) into massage therapy rooms.”
The Palmetto businesswoman knew there was no way to reconfigure the building to include the studio.
“At first I thought about getting rid of yoga, but someone suggested taking the studio offsite,” Deitrick said. “I started looking for 800- to 1,000-square-foot locations.”
One of her clients owns A Quilter’s Haven & More next door to a vacant storefront in the shopping plaza. She told Deitrick to look at it because it had been vacant for at least eight years.
“It was 2,700 square feet,” Deitrick said. “Way bigger than what I needed.
David and Bettina Wheeler opened the Bowled Life Café, 927 10th St. E., Palmetto, on Oct 3 after successfully running the Bowled Life food truck since January.
“But my son Aiden was with me when I was looking at the space and he said, ‘Take the risk, Mom,’” she recalled. “So I did.”
Knowing she only needed a maximum of 1,000 square feet, Deitrick started thinking about how she could use the remaining 1,700 square feet of space.
“I thought of (David and Bettina Wheeler, who own) Bowled Life after I saw the space,” she said. “They had their food truck at North River Body Therapies every Friday, and David said he needed to get some space for refrigeration and storage.
“I thought we could share the space,” she said.
At first the Wheelers were going to rent space in the back of Deitrick’s studio.
“Then my entrepreneurial mind said if we’re going to rent space we should just open a restaurant,” David said.
Since the unit next door also was available, the Wheelers decided to take the gamble.
But it was not too big of a gamble for them, since they both have business management experience, and Bettina also has marketing experience, while David was in financial education before entering the food-service business.
Plus, they have been operating the Bowled Life food truck successfully since January.
CARL MARIO NUDI PHOTOS
The Bowled Life Café and A Little Twisted Yoga Studio and Gift Boutique are tucked into the corner of Colonial Center shopping plaza, 927 10th St. E., Palmetto, creating an enclave of healthy options.
Bowled Life Café, located just next door to A Twisted Yoga Studio and Gift Boutique, opened on Oct. 3.
Although the café has been open only a couple of weeks, business has been very good, especially since the students from the yoga studio stop in after their classes.
Deitrick said she and the Wheelers have created a healthy alternative in the corner of the shopping plaza.
“We’re looking to bring healthier options,” David said. “We’re not looking to be the only place in town — just the best.”
The Bowled Life Café and food truck offer acai bowls, smoothies, salads and soups.
An acai bowl is basically a really thick smoothie made with the acai berry from South America, your choice of other fruits and fresh ingredients, topped with what the Wheelers call “rawnola,” a granola mix of oatmeal, almonds and dates.
“It’s a smoothie you have to eat with a spoon,” David said. “There’s no added sugar.
“We sweeten with natural local honey,” he said.
Acai bowls are very high in antioxidants and are popular in California, mostly along the Pacific Coast.
“They’re big in the surfing community,” David said.
“People come in saying they’ve had it in Hawaii,” Bettina said.
The Wheelers plan to add more healthy choices to their menu in the future.
“We’ve had those dreams for a while, but in a food truck you only have so much room,” Bettina said. “Here, we can do more.”
And since the Wheelers did not use the extra space Deitrick now had, she decided to use it to create a boutique, but again, with a little twist of humor.
“I knew the space was too big for just a yoga studio, and I didn’t want to be closed when there were no classes, so I decided on doing the retail boutique,” Deitrick said.
But she wanted to offer something different in the boutique besides the usual yoga mats and standard items.
“My humor is twisted, and some of the yoga poses are twisted, and no one around town uses humor with yoga like we do, so that is why many of the items are fun little things,” she said. “So I had this idea of the twisted humor of twisted items.
“We wanted it a little edgier and different,” Deitrick said.
That was why shoppers can find T-shirts with twisted little sayings printed on them, like “I Love Jesus . . . but I drink a little,” or fragrant soaps for specific kinds of people, such as one for “Grammar Police” that “smells like your annoying.”
“There’s nothing to compare our boutique to,” Deitrick said. “I say it’s like Spencer Gifts and a yoga studio had a baby.”
With moving the yoga studio from the North River Body Therapies location to the new location, Deitrick added a variety of classes, some for beginners, some more intense, and some a little more gentle.
There are classes for seniors, mothers and their babies, and those who like to mix their yoga with Pilates.
“We increased the number of classes from 14 at the old studio to now 21 at Twisted Yoga,” she said. “At the end of the month we will send out a survey, and based on the feedback we’ll modify or add more classes.”
Two of the instructors at A Twisted Yoga Studio said the move and name change was a good idea.
“I love it,” said Grace Briggs, who has been teaching yoga for about two-and-a-half years. “I feel that we shouldn’t take ourselves too serious (sic).
“You can still have fun while doing yoga,” Briggs said. “When people are at ease they feel more comfortable to try something they never tried before.”
For yoga and Pilates instructor Carol Klein, the smaller old studio had a more intimate feel, but she really likes the vibe of the new location.
“People appreciate the nice, big space,” Klein said, “and it has a great Zen feel with a little kookiness.”
For more information about A Little Twisted Yoga Studio and Gift Boutique, call 941-722-9642, or visit www.alittletwistedyoga.com.
A menu of what is served at Bowled Life Café is on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bowledlife/.
Call 941-721-4559 for more information about North River Body Therapies, or go to www.northrivermassage.com.
