GRAND RAPIDS, MI — White cedar harvested from Northern Michigan has become the backbone for a luxury hand-crafted sauna business taking off in West Michigan.
In a workshop that once manufactured grave vaults, Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge is building products designed to extend life rather than mark its end. The company was founded in 2023 by David Stoffer, a builder from East Grand Rapids.
Stoffer and his growing team construct custom saunas from Northern Michigan white cedar, a material so specialized it can only be harvested during the coldest months of the year.
“All of our builds are using white cedar, that’s harvested right here in Northern Michigan,” Stoffer explained. “And the wood is, it’s actually a swamp wood, so they have to wait for it to freeze.”
39
1/39
The seasonal nature of cedar harvesting creates unique supply chain challenges. When the swamps freeze, suppliers can access and harvest the wood, then transport it to mills where it’s cut to specifications for Nightjar’s sauna builds.
The reliance on weather and seasonal operations means Stoffer sometimes finds himself calling suppliers, asking, “Where’s the cedar? Bring me the cedar.”
The wait is worth it, according to Stoffer, because cedar possesses properties that make it uniquely suited for sauna construction.
Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge
“What’s great about cedar is it’s really ideal for the sauna and it can handle the moisture, it can handle the heat, and it doesn’t expand and contract nearly as much,” Stoffer said. “It’s also naturally antibacterial, antimicrobial.”
Then there’s the aroma. “The best part about cedar is it smells so good,” he added. “When I turn my sauna on, as I’m walking up to it, from about 20 feet away, you can smell the cedar because the way it heats it up.”
Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge
Nightjar Sauna moved into its current Grand Rapids location in December, marking a significant expansion for the growing business.
The new facility provides the space needed to support the company’s rapid growth trajectory. Since its founding, the business has been doubling annually, and Stoffer says the build queue is longer than ever.
Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge
“The sauna wave is here, and we’re more or less here to help people navigate that wave,” Stoffer said, noting that the company receives more inquiries now than at any previous time.
The company’s approach emphasizes what Stoffer calls the “social nature of sauna.” Unlike typical compact sauna designs, Nightjar builds larger units with multiple bench levels to accommodate families.
Each sauna incorporates iKi stoves imported from Finland and uses Finnish granite for the rock mass, combining international sauna traditions with Michigan materials.
Customers can choose from four models, ranging from $23,000 to $43,000, customizable with different windows, wood stains and layouts. Each comes equipped with indoor and outdoor lighting, robe hooks, and a Wi-Fi connected stove operable by smartphone.
Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge
A typical sauna takes Stoffer about eight days to complete. When it’s finished, a crane hoists the structure into place at the customer’s home.
The company’s most popular model, the Manistee Sauna, measures eight by eight feet and features floor-to-ceiling windows and a recessed porch.
“My aesthetic is a clean look, eliminating busy design is one of my kind of favorite things,” Stoffer said.
The large windows serve a specific purpose beyond aesthetics. “You get that experience in the sauna that you’re outside,” Stoffer said.
He sees saunas as a tool for helping Michigan residents embrace rather than endure the state’s long winters. “Michigan’s beautiful in winter, and you can experience a lot more when you have a sauna.”
Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge
The health benefits extend beyond seasonal enjoyment. “People are just starting to learn a lot of the benefits of sauna,” Stoffer said, citing improved blood circulation and overall wellness.
The company has also created cold plunges — sleek wood-paneled pools built around stainless-steel basins designed to recreate the post-sauna cold shock prized in Finnish bathing culture.
Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge
They share an unexpected parallel with the building’s past, similar in size to the concrete containers once built there to encase caskets.
“The mental clarity after a cold plunge is unbelievable,” said Stoffer, 39, who has nine employees and has traveled to Finland three times to study sauna culture. “It’s the best legal drug around.”
The combination of heat exposure and cold plunges, he noted, helps people feel better both physically and emotionally.
For Stoffer, the transition from the building’s previous use to its current purpose carries symbolic weight.
“They made grave vaults here back in the day,” he said. “Getting to it now, where we can repurpose this space and not make something that’s focused on the end of life, but extending people’s lives through sauna, which is proven to really help people live longer — it’s kind of a nice little transition from the old to the new.”
According to Grand View Research, a market research firm, the global sauna market is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2033, up from $954 million in 2025.
On a new whiteboard inside the company’s breakroom, Stoffer outlined Nightjar’s production goals in red marker: 45 saunas in 2026, up from 26 last year.
39
1/39
Grand Rapids news
Read the original article on mlive.com. Add mlive.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
