New spa marks sign of what’s to come on Everett waterfront

EVERETT — By summer 2025, a spa will sprawl across 6,000 square feet in a new building near the Hotel Indigo at the Port of Everett.

Anisoptera Spa will offer “any type of massage therapy you can imagine,” including deep tissue, hot stone and Swedish massages, owner Elizabeth Brooks said. It will also have a balcony, a wine and beer license, mani-pedi stations, locker rooms and a sauna.

“This will be a place where people can come and spend the whole day,” Elizabeth Brooks said.

Anisoptera is a sign of things to come in Everett’s most booming neighborhood. More services and businesses are moving in, like Sound 2 Summit, Woods Coffee, The Muse Whiskey & Coffee and Fisherman Jack’s. Three boat-related businesses have also expanded their presence at Fisherman’s Harbor.

The spa is the first amenity to open at the port this summer, port spokesperson Cat Soper said. Eventually, the port hopes to house a grocery store and “entertainment-style retail” at the entrance of 13th Street and West Marine View Drive, Soper said.

For now, Anisoptera is operating in a 1,900-square-foot former real estate office next to Scuttlebutt Brewing. Brooks and her team have put in blue walls to divide the space into private rooms for massages, lash services and facials. Each room glows with soft purple light. Ambient synth music plays in the background.

Elizabeth Brooks and her husband Jason opened the temporary location in March. This is their first business. The port will also work with real estate firm LPC West to add more retail offerings to the Millwright District, Soper said.

In 2016, Jason Brooks started getting deep tissue massages from massage therapist Kippi Eldred.

It wasn’t long before Jason and Elizabeth Brooks started sending other people, like Elizabeth Brooks’ mom, to Eldred for massages. They talked to Eldred about creating a spa centering the needs of massage therapists and other employees as much as it centered the clients.

Last year, Eldred and her friend heard about an opportunity for new businesses to open at the port. She told Elizabeth and Jason Brooks, and the Anisoptera team gave a presentation to Port leadership.

“It was awesome,” Elizabeth Brooks said. She felt like they “had no right to be there,” but they quickly won over the port with their plans for a luxury spa.

Everyone at Anisoptera works to play towards each others’ strengths, Eldred said. The massage therapists all have different specialties, and they make sure each gets “to do what they’re best at.”

“We are merely financial backing in this,” Elizabeth Brooks said. “We want to make sure that people come to work and enjoy it and stay for a long time.”

When the new building is ready in a couple years, Anisoptera Spa will be on the second floor, next to Rustic Cork Wine Bar and above a Menchies.

Elizabeth Brooks hopes to build close relationships with nearby hotels and provide services for weddings and bachelorette parties. Already, Hotel Indigo keeps information about the spa at its front desk, Brooks said.

Right now, the future Anisoptera Spa is a pile of dirt. But the groundbreaking will be “any day now,” Elizabeth Brooks said.

Surya Hendry: 425-339-3104; surya.hendry@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @suryahendryy.