CARLTON — Surrounded by his hand-built, custom saunas displayed prominently on the Otter Creek Event Center floor, Heritage Sauna Company owner Troy Persaud of Cloquet welcomed a host of eager admirers to his exhibit as part of the Cloquet Area Home, Business and Sport Show held Friday, March 17 at Black Bear Casino Resort.
The popular local event marked its return after a three-year hiatus with over 125 booths showcasing a variety of local products and services for businesses ranging from barbecue catering companies to automobile and RV sales and everything in between.
Persaud’s sauna business, featuring the barrel and traditional sauna models and cedar hot tub, was a popular attraction for attendees at the event. Sauna-building began as a hobby, Persaud said, and has since grown a full-fledged business this year.
“I started out with Persaud Construction building houses, and we ended up actually starting a new company, Heritage Sauna Company,” Persaud said. “It’s just something that I enjoy doing and it started as a hobby and then it turned into a company, and so that’s kind of where we’re taking it just seeing how it goes.”
Another local company in its early stages of business is Holy Smokes Catering Company, owned and operated out of Cloquet by co-owners Lee and Julie Harris. The two decided to enter into the barbecue business after pivoting from their previous careers in the medical field and purchasing a commercial smoker.
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“We were kind of phasing out of our other careers and we were wondering what we should think about doing in the future and learning to smoke meat was what we decided to do,” Lee explained.
Specializing in smoked pork, brisket and turkey, Holy Smokes operates out of a food truck during the summer months before transitioning to catering during the winter.
On the opposite end of the Otter Creek Event Center space was Wood City Motors, which made its debut at the Cloquet Area Home, Business and Sports Show this year. On display was a new Ford Bronco along with a special Waldoch Ram Truck.
Visitors even had a chance to win a drawing for $500 in vehicle savings or parts and service with a correct guess of how many M&Ms were in the jar.
Sales Manager Jimmy Saice was impressed in his first time at the event.
“Once I got through here a little bit and I took a look around, I was pretty impressed with how many vendors and people that make jewelry and different things, and so I was pretty impressed with what they’ve got going on. And a lot of familiar faces, so if you’re from the Cloquet area it’s a great place to come and reconnect with friends and make new ones.”
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