Creative Juices Flowing at Healing Grounds Cafe & Juicery

By Shelby Deering | Photo by Holly Leitner

As the morning Pilates class comes to an end, participants emerge from the studio and drift into an adjacent café that is full of sunlight, ready to enjoy a post-workout treat made with organic ingredients and packed with the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. These are the fresh-made juices and smoothies at Healing Ground Cafe & Juicery.

Carli Schmaling and Samantha Koralesky are the co-owners of Healing Grounds Wellness Center, and the attached Healing Grounds Café & Juicery. Located in Salem, just 15 miles east of Lake Geneva, the center is a haven for all things wellness, including its juicery, which specializes in natural, whole ingredients.

After opening the wellness center in 2013, Schmaling and Koralesky felt the space would benefit from the addition of a juicery, to “empower people’s personal relationship with food.” They opened the café and juicery in December 2021. “Food is medicine, and being owners with dietary restrictions, this is a need that a lot of people are seeking in our community,” Koralesky says. “Healthy, good food doesn’t need to be complicated, and we’re hopeful that we can show people that they can eat well and it can still be delicious and convenient.”

The menu features juices and smoothies packed with health- boosting superfoods like blue spirulina, dragonfruit, goji berries and acai. Schmaling and Koralesky say the juicery serves as “the heartbeat to the [wellness] center,” which provides several wellness offerings, from Pilates to acupuncture to massage.

“We believe that for complete healing, we need to address the body, soul and spirit,” Schmaling says. “The café enhances the nutritional aspect that we all require.” After clients take part in movement practices with Pilates, the co-owners say they often see them “fueling up in the café afterwards” with a juice, smoothie or protein bite. For those looking for a complete spa package, the wellness center also offers pairings from the café with services like massage and acupuncture.

Schmaling and Koralesky have been friends for over 30 years, and each brings a unique strength to the partnership. Schmaling is a National Pilates Certification Program instructor, hairstylist, esthetician and mother of three. Koralesky is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist and mother. She specializes in treating mental health issues and pain.

Rural Salem may seem like an unusual place to find a center specializing in the latest wellness trends, but the co-founders say that juxtaposition is part of the charm. The center is located on the grounds of Breezy Hill Nursery, a full-service garden center and nursery. Often, new clients will stumble across the wellness center while exploring the garden center.

“I recently discovered Healing Grounds and I simply love this place,” reads one glowing Google review. “A place focused on overall health and wellness is so wonderful (but hard) to find nestled in between many small towns in Wisconsin. From their food to their juice and coffee, I’m hooked.”


The menu at Healing Grounds Café & Juicery changes with the availability of organic ingredients and includes recipes tailored to many different dietary restrictions. We asked Carli Schmaling and Samantha Koralesky to share the recipes for three of their most popular featured juices.

I AM LIVELY. With apple, beet, carrot and lemon, this juice is “great for cleansing the blood, making it the perfect juice for pre- and post-workout,” Koralesky says.

I AM GLOWING. This juice takes advantage of pineapple, pear and ginger to help reduce inflammation, and adds enzymes to the body to increase skin’s radiance.

I AM ENERGIZED. Featuring apple, kale and lemon, this juice is a mild, sweet green juice that will give you energy from the nutrient-dense kale, the vitamin C in the apple and the detoxification from the lemon.

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