Old COA building's new owners: Hello La Conner

My name is April Emanuelson-Barnett. I am working on my doctorate in natural medicine and work at Thrive Direct Health Care as a certified functional nutrition coach. I plan to continue to offer my expertise there, in the clinical setting and offer the fitness and fresh food side of health at La Conner Wellness and MMA.

My husband, Tracy Barnett, is a retired paramedic. He did rescue work for over 24 years and has taught martial arts and self-defense for 23 years.

Our SBA (Small Business Administration) lenders love our idea of turning the old COA building on Maple Avenue into a small gym offering functional fitness for all ages, mixed martial arts, self-defense, Tai Chi and more. That, combined with our serving fresh smoothies, cold pressed juices and light health foods, really got them excited to support our project.

We also have an incredible chef, Rachel Miller, behind our healthy to-go-only menu. Rachel is a master at creating healthy food that is also delicious!

We will be sourcing organic, plant-based foods from local farms. One such farm is Hedlin Farms – where we board our horse! Through that connection, I have seen their awesome approach to farming and admire the family behind the operations.

Our desire is to provide our community a members-only club, where people can come to recover, maintain and/or improve their health at an affordable membership rate. We hope it will be a place for all ages to feel comfortable, at any level of fitness!

We are here to serve and are open to your input! We know, in talking with most of the surrounding neighbors, that they are relieved to have us, because for a residential project to be profitable, it most likely would have included demolition and a multifamily unit. We want to hear from you too – so feel free to stop by when you see us there! We, along with our kids (20, 16 and 11) want to have an amazing relationship with as many La Connerites as possible!

I have lived here on and off for 45 years and there is no town like it! We’re happy to have put down permanent roots here, just off Snee Oosh and look forward to serving you for many years to come!

April Emanuelson-Barnett is a 45 year year on-and-off resident of La Conner.