Female entrepreneur celebrates ’15 years of Bliss’

The team at Bliss Massage & Wellness Center in Leominster is celebrating 15 years in business. Bottom row, left to right, Alexandra Villa, Molly Lynch, Morgan Rousseau, Kelly Beauregard, Sydney Langston, Tegan Chakrin, and Daniel Bourgeois. Top row, left to right, Bliss owner Julia Capone, Courtney Denis, Adrianna Gamble, Sara Debonis, Jenn Bradbury, and Joseph Goncalves. (COURTESY BRITTANY BERNADINI)

LEOMINSTER — Fifteen years in business is quite an accomplishment, which is exactly what the owner of Bliss Massage & Wellness Center is celebrating.

Longtime city resident Julia Capone launched her wellness endeavor a decade and a half ago following her own journey with health issues. After suffering from muscular pain since she was 13, she decided at age 20 to start seeing a chiropractor.

“I just never knew or thought about massage as a treatment until one day I was working at my corporate job and someone suggested I schedule a massage with the traveling massage therapist that came to our company,” she recalled. “I scheduled with her, and I knew right away this was what I was meant to do. It’s like a light went off and everything fell into place after that.”

Capone said she was “100% in” when she opened her first practice in April of 2009 while still working her corporate job. After a year she decided to quit her job and pursue massage full time.

“Leominster didn’t really have many massage options at that time, and I knew with this technique that I have learned and honed it would help so many people,” she said. “Fifteen years later, we have helped thousands of clients who suffer from musculoskeletal pain.”

She said business has grown steadily over the years and in 2018, she purchased her own property and expanded to include other types of wellness services. Bliss Massage & Wellness Center is on the first floor at the 145 Central St. location and Leominster Yoga Center and two licensed mental health counselors are on the second floor.

“We also offer corporate spa days where companies can use our large conference room for workshops and schedule services in our spa for their employees,” Capone said. “It’s really catching on that companies are realizing the benefits of regular massage and self-care for their employees.”

Besides nine massage therapists who provide a variety of different massage types and techniques, including two large couples suites, Bliss also has two aestheticians on staff who offer quality skin care services ranging from their signature facial to anti-aging facials to CBD skin care, dermaplaning, lash lift and tints, and gua-sha and lymphatic drainage facials.

They also offer a full Zen Suite that you can purchase a day pass for. It includes a custom eight-person steam sauna, two-person hot tub, Himalayan salt room, and foot soak room with massage chairs, all for $100.

“Bliss is a special place,” Capone said. “We get hundreds of reviews from our clients telling us that this is the one thing they do for themselves that makes a difference in their physical health and their mental health. We take great care from the moment you walk in the door to give you the special treatment, from our luxurious robes and slippers to any of the services you receive until you check out.”

The businesswoman has strong ties to the Twin Cities. She grew up in Fitchburg, graduated from Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School, and moved to Leominster in her early twenties where she and her fiancé bought a home two years ago.

When asked what she likes about being her own boss, Capone said she enjoys running her own business and “seeing the growth and change that has happened over 15 years.”

“It’s very rewarding for sure,” she said. “I love seeing clients 15 years later who say that I helped them feel better when nothing else worked. That’s why I started this business, because I can relate to that.”

As for challenges, she noted that the biggest one she and her dedicated team faces is “that balance between our employees and clients.”

“Our spa manager Alex is amazing and is a great asset to our business but dealing with human nature is always challenging,” Capone noted.

She said the team is “going to have a big pow wow and come up with strategies and plans for our future while we celebrate our success” to mark the anniversary — and she’s also offering a 20% off new client special through the month of June.

Capone said she is incredibly grateful for all the people who have supported her small business for so many years.

“They have helped me as much as I have helped them,” she said of the mutually beneficial relationship with clients. “Continually being a supporter of me, Bliss, and our business has kept us going through many challenges — Covid, staff changes, my own time that I’ve taken off due to injury, etc.  They have always remained with us and for that I’m truly grateful.

“Also, to my staff who recognizes what we are doing at Bliss and have shown me that they truly love working here,” Capone continued. “I do my best to recognize their hard work by giving them the best pay and place to work and use the amenities we offer as well as trades with each other.”

Future plans and goals include completing the renovation of the treatment rooms, a project that began five years ago when she moved into the current space.

“They have seen some wear and tear over the years so it’s time for some updating,” Capone said. “We are always looking to add other wellness business to our center and welcome those who may be starting out and aren’t sure where to start to reach out. We want to continue to be a one stop shop for all things wellness and self-care. Thank you for 15 years of Bliss!”