Most people don’t know that Junior J.J. Wertkin’s family owns a salt therapy business called the Salt Cave.

The salt cave consists of two rooms covered completely in Himalayan Rock Salt sourced from Pakistan, where the original salt therapy cave is. The floor is covered in big rough chunks which can be walked on with socks or bare feet. Visitors sit in anti-gravity chairs for 45 minutes breathing in the granulated salt. The salt helps with respiratory issues and allergies.

“It is an escape, like a mini vacation,” Wertkin said.  “In the cave, we’re not supposed to use any technology, but just focus on breathing. Just focusing on breathing can be really hard and can take a really long time, but is really helpful.”

The family business got started when they heard about the therapeutic benefits of salt upon discovering a salt room in Florida. They noticed the Minneapolis area was not saturated in the salt therapy market, so they decided to open their own salt room.

“One of my dad’s other inspirations was that I had really bad asthma when I was younger. The salt room really helps when I have breathing issues or sinus issues. I go in there and breathe. It really does help,” Wertkin said.

For being a growing niche market, the salt therapy business is successful.

“We’ve definitely grown as a business over the past five years. We’ve gotten a lot of people to come in. We’ve been on the news once or twice and had some articles in the newspapers. I think our business has really grown and is still growing.”

The business is still looking to expand. Wertkin’s dad is currently seeking other locations to to open a new salt cave in the Minneapolis area.

Wertkin occasionally helps his dad by working at the front desk or around the caves.

In addition to salt therapy, The Salt Cave sells salt lamps and bars, which are sourced from Pakistan just like the salt on the walls and floor.

“Some of lamps and bars are shapes carved like pyramids or spheres that you can put around your house. They are supposed to release negative ions to go with the positive ions to make a cooler and sweeter atmosphere.”

The Salt Cave is located on 4811 Nicollet in Minneapolis in the Tangletown neighborhood. All sessions begin promptly on the hour. Reservations are encouraged.