Watford's downtown goes uptown with spa
Sep 07, 2007 - 04:03:57 CDT By LAUREN DONOVAN Bismarck Tribune WATFORD CITY - Marlene Johnsrud could almost hear the "ahhhhh" escaping her toes as she sank into a vibrating leather recliner and slipped her feet into a ceramic basin of bubbling fragrant water. Johnsrud said she'd been anxiously awaiting the opening of an uptown spa in downtown Watford City, where subdued but rich colors and the scent of lavender were soothing additions to the experience. "I think every woman deserves this," she said. Like a lot of women, she rarely gets off her feet, much less takes them out for a pampering pedicure. She cut the wait as short as she could and scheduled an appointment Wednesday, only the second day Monjores Studio was open for business. The studio of "hair designs and spa" adds to Watford City's profile as a place of western distinction. It shares the same street as a new $6 million bank and entertainment complex and a visitor center, both with Montana-style timber and glass architecture. Steph Jore and Jenny Maki, soon to be Jenny Monson, combined their names and their experience to create the spa.
They are both hometown girls who are part of a small and dynamically growing group of exWatford Citians who've returned to participate in the community's progressive era. "Dreams become reality in this town," Jore said. The spa represents a dream, along with months of their own labor, first gutting an available building and, with the help of a husband and a fiance, doing most of the construction and all of the decorating themselves. The result is classic, and miles from what one might expect in a McKenzie County salon. Jore said the Watford City area is ready for an oasis where women take time for themselves. Besides the obvious menu of haircut and color options, women can choose from eight facial treatments and seven manicure and pedicure treatments. They also can choose a spa day package, which take from two to six hours, or a 12- and six-month package if they want to try everything from an anti-aging masque to a seaweed pedicure. They hope to add a staff member who specializes in relaxation massages. "I think this is such a treat," Johnsrud said. Jore has experience from a Fargo spa salon, and Maki from one in Rapid City, S.D. Maki said she didn't expect to return home, but her fiance found work as lineman at McKenzie Electric Cooperative. Maki said Watford City has "really stepped out there. People don't want to be in a town that never prospers." She said it's also the time of a generational shift, where women feel like it's all right to take care of themselves. "It's nice to feel beautiful, even if it's just for an hour," Maki said. (Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511, or lauren@;westriv.com.)