Community investment fuels expansion plans at Sisu and Löyly Nordic Sauna

Since opening more than five years ago along the shore of Lake Superior, Sisu & Löyly Nordic Sauna owner Katie Usem has watched her vision grow into a steadily expanding business.

Along the way, she has shaped and refined the business needs, responding to rising demand and a deepening interest in sauna culture.

“We started very small and scrappy,” Usem said. When the business launched in 2021, it was just Usem and one employee operating the sauna from the red building overlooking Lake Superior’s East Bay.

Five years later, the operation has expanded into a nine-person team managing multiple locations, including the original red building sauna, a mobile sauna, and a floating sauna.

Sisu & Löyly red building along Lake Superior | Provided by Sisu & Löyly

With demand in sauna experiences continuing to rise, Usem said the business has once again reached a point where expansion is necessary to keep pace with its growth.

“I just really see the need to expand to the point where we can comfortably accommodate more people and add a variety to our offering,” Usem said.

Beginning later this spring and into the summer, the business will break ground on a major expansion that will broaden its sauna offerings and deepen its focus on wellness. The expansion will include a new 2,000 sq. ft. addition featuring a larger sauna, a warm pool, a cold plunge pool, a steam room, and an outdoor patio.

Usem said the business will always be “sauna forward,” but offer a wider variety of thermal bathing.

Sisu & Löyly expansion rendering | Sisu & Löyly *renderings subject to change

The original red sauna building, where the business began, will stay open, Usem said. The new addition will be nearby.  “The existing red saunas are staying exactly as is. I can’t picture Sisu & Löyly without them,” Usem said.

To make the project a reality, Usem and her husband, Sam, pursued several funding strategies, including community investment.

Recent crowdfunding regulation changes now allow business owners to reach out to their customer base and the public to invite people to become investors, Usem said. In addition to investing owner equity for the bank loan, Usem said, “We wanted to test this hypothesis, whether people would be interested in this or not. And not only interested, but is anyone willing to put some dollars behind that?”

To put the idea to the test, Usem launched a WeFunder campaign with a targeted goal of $50,000. In just a few months, it has drawn 71 investors and raised nearly $75,000.

“It’s been an incredible way, very validating, very challenging, but also very rewarding to see,” Usem said.

Sisu & Löyly has established revenue share investment terms for investors. She said that every dollar raised through community investment reduces the amount the business needs to borrow from a bank. “I would rather owe my customers and have shared the success with the customers,” Usem said.

With construction of the new expansion starting as soon as the snow fades this spring, Usem said she expects the construction to be completed and customers enjoying the new Sisu & Löyly offering in early 2027.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Sisu & Löyly Nordic Sauna owner Katie Usem about the 2026 expansion plans, details about the community investment, what she has enjoyed about operating the business for five years, and more. The audio from the interview is below.

Kalli Hawkins January 24, 2026