New location for longstanding St. Vital business

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This article was published 23/03/2022 (443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mother Sandy and daughter Jenny Borowski are excited about opening the new location of their family business at 394 St. Anne’s Rd.

Borowski’s Health Shop & Day Spa, formerly situated at 437 St. Anne’s, has been a fixture in the St. Vital business scene for many years. Originally established in 1977 as Borowski’s Health Foods by Sandy’s father Joe, who was also an NDP MLA and cabinet minister, Sandy and Jenny are planning a 45th anniversary celebration in May.

Over a year ago, the mother-daughter team decided to downsize and concentrate on offering ionic foot detox and reflexology service to their clients.

“We’re both certified reflexology therapists,” Jenny said.

Wanting to stay in St. Vital, the pair spent the past two years looking for a smaller building that was suitable and didn’t require a total teardown.

“We looked only in this area. It was important to find space in St. Vital,” Jenny said.

Eventually they settled on the building that housed Rosa’s Hi-Fashion Hair Stylists for many years. Sandy said that when she walked into the building she knew it would work.

Jenny added that redesigning the building’s interior and choosing the artwork, lighting fixtures, furniture and other interior décor gave her mom the chance to exercise her passion for interior design and decorating. The result of Sandy’s work includes a small, brightly lit shop in which a variety of health foods, supplements and other products are neatly displayed, and a treatment room and massage therapy room, both of which are accentuated with bright turquoise accessories.

Sandy admits that moving from a 4,000-square foot space to an 800-square foot location was a challenge, but the process of deciding what to keep and what to jettison was a healthy one.

“I’m into minimalism — less is more,” she said.

Jenny said the shop is stocked with as many locally made products as possible, along with some manufactured in other parts of Canada.

“Even the foot detox machines were made in Canada. We offer things that you can’t really find elsewhere,” she said.

During the pandemic, Jenny has delivered orders to clients upon request.

Because some of the items they sell are foods and supplements, Borowski’s was deemed an essential service so could stay open during the pandemic, however Sandy and Jenny had to discontinue their reflexology service for a few months. They are happy that it is business as usual again, although they continue to take precautions and do thorough sanitization.

At 61, and having worked since she joined her father in 1978, Sandy said she made up her mind to simplify her business. The store is open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday with reflexology appointments available outside shop hours.

“This is a new beginning for us,” Sandy said.

She is pleased that their former site will soon reopen as a pharmacy and medical clinic.

“It was built as a pharmacy and it’s going back to a pharmacy,” she said.