New event and wellness hub
opening on Concord Exchange N.

By Jake Spitzack | Staff Writer | December 2024

Three entrepreneurs have joined forces to open a hub for events, relaxation and a wide variety of wellness treatments. The Flora Room, located in the former Vandalia Glassworks building at 103 Concord Exchange N., boasts a floral shop, hair salon, two event spaces, and 10 private treatment rooms for everything from massages to red light therapy. Extensive renovations have been underway since October and a grand opening is slated for Dec. 2.

Cori Laska operates Rustic Florals, which she founded in 2018 in Cottage Grove. She also manages the event space and offers event coordinating services, including decoration rentals. Angela Grosse and Sara Scott operate The Lab, which offers lifestyle, aesthetic and beauty services.

Laska and Grosse have been friends since youth and met Scott about a decade ago when they all operated out of a salon in Cottage Grove. Grosse operated Aviva Beauty, Laska Polished Nail Studio, and Scott – a registered nurse currently seeking to get a nurse practitioner license by May 2025 – PUR Aesthetics. The trio’s dream of Flora Room has been years in the making, and after seeing the South St. Paul space they never looked back.

“Honestly this building was our vision… and I’ve always thought Concord Exchange was such a beautiful area with the river down there,” said Grosse. “We picked this location because it’s central but also because there’s nothing like it here. We wanted to go somewhere where we’re bringing something new and exciting. We want to bring community to South St. Paul.”

Laska and her staff handcraft floral arrangements featuring dahlias grown by Laska, as well as roses, anemones and many other flowers. Rustic Florals offers same day deliveries and frequently caters to weddings, funerals and other events. Flora Room’s event spaces will be open to rent for parties, weekly workshops and classes. In the spring, some events will likely feature dogs, as Laska also operates Healing Paws Rescue and currently has eight foster dogs. She’s rescued 363 in the past year alone. She also plans to open a coffee and juice lounge connected to the event space in the coming months. People will be able to visit and relax there with the purchase of a drink.

Entrepreneurship is nothing new to Laska. She created Laska’s Gardens, a lawn care business, nine years ago. Her husband, a longtime Ecolab employee, has since taken it over full time.

“I started landscaping and gardening for some of my spa clients and just built it [Laska Gardens] into a business from there,” said Laska. “I worked part-time at a flower shop to get my ducks in a row and figure out the business side of things [before opening Rustic Floral]. I just have a passion for working hard.”

Grosse’s expansion from the beauty to the wellness industry was sparked by a personal hardship. Five years ago she was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder and was told she’d be on medication her entire life to manage it. Eventually, she learned to control the condition through diet and other treatments and now has been medication-free for about a year.

“I have such a passion for wellness and integrative nutrition,” said Grosse. “I want to help other people, and I’m just trying to teach them about toxic things in our culture and how to kind of reset your body.”

Grosse acknowledges that their wellness and nutrition services aren’t traditional “western” medicine but is resolute in her belief in them, and urges people to give them a try. In addition to those services, The Lab will offer aesthetic treatments such as Botox injections, dermal fillers and more. Four estheticians will provide services such as acne treatment, hair removal and Reiki relaxation techniques. Other independent wellness professionals will be able to rent some of the private treatment rooms for work including massage, cupping therapy and acupuncture. The Lab will also operate a 6-seat hair salon, infrared sauna, and be able to use Flora Room’s event spaces.

“We’ll have a blend of clinical and holistic therapeutic treatments,” said Scott. “The whole facility’s purpose is to be a destination for longevity and wellness and tailoring each individual’s treatment to their specific needs…. Health is number one and then obviously the benefit of being healthy is having your exterior change a little bit as well. It’s all about fostering vitality, balance and self-confidence.”

Laska said some of the juices offered in the lounge will be beneficial for certain cleansing or detox routines. Flora Room will be open 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, but will likely expand hours to Sunday soon. For more information, call 651-203-2459 or visit flora-room.com.

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