Customer Feature: Gainesville Sauna House

From a Shared Passion to a Gainesville Gathering Place

For Connor and Taylor Cornell, Gainesville Sauna House grew from something that had already become an important part of their lives. The couple have practiced sauna and cold plunging together since they began dating in 2019.

“Connor and I always knew that we wanted to go into business together. When we started thinking about what we could see ourselves talking about and doing for the rest of our lives, we focused on our values and the things that were important to us,” Taylor said. “One day, it just clicked for me: maybe we could turn our hobby into our passion project.”

Their connection to sauna stayed with them as they moved away from Gainesville and eventually found their way back. “While we were living in Seattle, Connor bought me a sauna, so we actually had one in the house that I could use. That’s when I realized how impactful having access to it could be in everyday life,” Taylor said. “When we eventually moved back home, we had access to places in Gainesville that had a sauna, but it wasn’t something we were able to use every single day. It clicked for us that Gainesville needed a resource where this could be more accessible.”

Connor said they immediately realized how much they missed having access to a Finnish sauna, and “it clicked that that was exactly what we should build for our community.”

Creating a Different Kind of Space

Today, Gainesville Sauna House brings that idea to life as the city’s first authentic Finnish sauna and cold plunge. Guests can visit with a day pass or punch card, but the heart of the business is unlimited memberships designed to make regular visits simple. There are no reservations to plan around or time limits to follow, making it easy for members to fit sauna sessions into their schedules and build them into their routines.

“We’re keeping the membership simple. There’s one monthly rate and you can come as often as you like. Beyond that, we offer day passes and punch cards (multiple day passes prepaid at a cheaper price). You don’t need a reservation, and there isn’t an app telling you when you’re allowed to come in,” Connor said. “We think of it more like a gym than a spa. At a spa, you’re usually paying for a particular treatment. Here, you pay for access to a facility.”

The experience itself is intentionally simple. Guests can move between the heat, a cold plunge or cold shower, and periods of rest. There is no complicated formula for how someone must spend that time, and that freedom is part of what Connor appreciates about the practice.

“The basic experience is pretty simple. You spend some time in the heat, cool down in the plunge or a cold shower, then sit and rest for a while before going back in,” Connor said. “What you do during that rest is really up to you. You might talk with friends, read a book, play chess, have a snack, or just sit outside in the sun.”

For someone new to sauna or cold plunging, Taylor encourages taking that same simple approach and listening to your body. “For someone who has never done it before, I would say come in with an open mind and a lot of grace for yourself. There’s no pressure. There’s no right way to do it, and you can only get better,” Taylor said. “Listening to your body is really, really important and deciding, ‘Nope, I’ve met my limit. This is where I get out.’ You can exit at any time, so it’s up to you to find where you’re most comfortable.”

A Place to Slow Down

While sauna and cold plunging are at the center of the experience, Taylor and Connor envisioned the space as something more. They wanted to create a place where people could step away from the constant noise of everyday life, slow down and spend time without feeling the need to always be connected.

“Gainesville Sauna House is completely tech-free. Leave your phone in the car. Leave your computer in the car. You can have 20 or 30 minutes disconnected from everything else to reconnect with yourself,” Taylor said. “We really want this space to feel open to everyone and to be a place of safety and rejuvenation.”

Connor sees the space filling another need in Gainesville as well. He describes it as a “third place,” somewhere outside of work and home where people can spend time without needing a particular reason to be there. “Gainesville has fantastic gyms, bars, nature walks, and coffee shops, but there aren’t many places that fall somewhere in between. We wanted to create somewhere you could go simply because you wanted to spend some time there,” Connor said. “Maybe it’s a Tuesday night after work. You don’t want to go home yet, but you also don’t want to go out for drinks. You can come here, sit in the sauna, talk to somebody, read a book, or just sit outside for a while.”

That sense of slowing down is an important part of what Taylor hopes people take from their time at the sauna house. “We carry a lot of stress, from our environment, the world, the internet, and everyday life,” she said. “We want this to really be a haven for people to step away from that, just for a moment.”

Finding a Local Partner in First Federal Bank

Community relationships mattered when Taylor and Connor began looking for business financing. Their concept was different, and they needed a banking partner willing to understand not only what they wanted to build, but why they believed it could work.

They came prepared. Taylor said the couple presented a 90-page business plan because they had invested so much of themselves into the concept and wanted to clearly communicate their vision. What stood out to her was having someone outside of their immediate circle recognize the potential in what they were creating.

“First Federal was the first third party that said, ‘Hey, I think you guys are really onto something,’” Taylor said. “That was just wind beneath our wings. After that, we were like, ‘Yeah, we can do this.’”

“We talked to several lenders, but First Federal was the one that actually wanted to understand what we were building. They didn’t just go looking for another sauna business that looked like ours on paper,” Connor said. “When the person sitting across from you is asking how the business is going to work instead of explaining why it won’t, that gives you some confidence they understand what you’re trying to do.”

That relationship became even more important as the project moved from a detailed business plan to construction. Like many projects, the sauna house came with unexpected changes, permitting delays and parts of the process that simply weren’t within Taylor and Connor’s control.

“The permitting process ended up taking longer than anyone expected, and First Federal was patient with us through that. They understood there were parts of the timeline we simply couldn’t control and gave us room to work through it,” Connor said. “That kind of relationship is pretty valuable when you’re building something that doesn’t fit neatly into an existing model.”

Taylor described the relationship in a similar way. “Everyone has been extremely responsive, supportive, and focused on problem-solving,” she said. “When we came across a hiccup or something happened during construction, all of the representatives we worked with have been thinking outside of the box to protect us. That has been so comforting.”