Grand Rapids Sauna Startup Doubles Sales, Plans 50-Person Community Club

A factory on Burton Street where workers once built grave vaults for the dead is now turning out cedar-lined saunas and coffin-sized cold-plunge tubs, and the man behind the operation says demand has never been stronger.

David Stoffer, a builder from East Grand Rapids who founded Nightjar Sauna and Cold Plunge in March 2023, reported about $700,000 in sales in 2025, more than doubling his revenue from the prior year. He has set a $1 million target for 2026, and a whiteboard in the company's breakroom, written in red marker, spells out how he plans to get there: 45 saunas built this year, up from 26 the year before.

"The build queue is longer than it's ever been, and we're getting more inquiries than we ever have," Stoffer said. "The sauna wave is here."

To keep pace, Stoffer relocated Nightjar's production from a 2,000-square-foot shop in Wyoming, Michigan to a 15,000-square-foot facility on Grand Rapids' southeast side on Burton Street. The move expanded simultaneous build capacity from two saunas at a time to five, and Stoffer says the larger space will allow the company to operate more like a production line. Workers build each sauna from Michigan-grown white cedar, with finished units running around $30,000.

Stoffer came to the business through a personal detour. He previously worked as a general contractor for Jean Stoffer Design, his family's firm, before taking a tour of Finland to study sauna culture firsthand. He built one for his own backyard first, then founded Nightjar.

The market he entered is growing fast. Global sauna production was estimated at $904.9 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $1.5 billion by 2033, growing at 6.3% annually, according to a Grand View Research market report cited by Crain's Grand Rapids. The North American market generated $255.5 million in 2024 and is forecast to grow at 5.6% annually through 2033.

Stoffer plans to open a public-facing club also called Nightjar this fall at 3535 Lake Eastbrook Blvd. SE, near Shops at CenterPoint mall in Grand Rapids. The club will feature a 50-person communal sauna alongside single-person saunas and cold plunge tubs, all built by Nightjar. It represents a significant expansion beyond the custom manufacturing business, bringing the experience directly to consumers.

"The sauna is here to stay, it's not just a fad," Stoffer told Crain's Grand Rapids Business. "It's part of a society that lives in winter culture."

For a company that started in a 2,000-square-foot shop less than three years ago, a 50-person sauna club and a seven-figure revenue target mark a rapid pivot from craft operation to scaled wellness brand.