Another Seattle-area company is making a major investment in Nashville instead of expanding in Washington, adding to a growing pattern of businesses shifting growth outside the Seattle region.
Soak & Sage, a luxury spa and bathhouse brand founded in the Seattle area, announced plans to open an 18,000-square-foot riverfront wellness sanctuary in Nashville’s River North development in 2027.
DEVELOPING: Soak & Sage, Seattle's premier social wellness bathhouse, is following Starbucks and expanding to Nashville with a multi-million dollar investment and is creating 100 new jobs
Tell me again how businesses aren't leaving Washington pic.twitter.com/BUuCxZzdEK
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) May 11, 2026
The project represents a multi-million-dollar investment expected to create nearly 100 jobs in Tennessee, where state leaders continue aggressively courting businesses with lower taxes and a business-friendly environment.
The Nashville expansion comes as other Seattle-area companies — most notably Starbucks — are also directing major growth toward Tennessee instead of Washington.
Starbucks recently announced a $100 million expansion in Nashville, where the company plans to move or hire 2,000 workers over the next five years, even as it closes Seattle stores, cuts jobs locally, and reportedly vacates office space in the region.
Now Soak & Sage is following a similar path.
The company was founded by Leslie Goeres and Moshe Menahem, creators of the original Soak & Sage on Lake Washington in Renton, which was named the 2025 Best Day Spa in the Pacific Northwest by The Seattle Times shortly after opening.
Instead of launching its next major location in Seattle, Bellevue, or elsewhere in Washington, the company chose Nashville.
“Nashville moves to a rhythm all its own, and every rhythm needs its rest,” founder Leslie Goeres said in a statement announcing the project.
The Nashville location will include thermal pools, saunas, steam rooms, cold plunges, massage and facial treatments, a café and bar, and outdoor riverfront lounges overlooking the Cumberland River.
The expansion comes amid growing concerns that Washington’s business climate is pushing companies to invest elsewhere.
Earlier this month, aerospace and defense supplier Janicki Industries announced it would pursue large-scale growth outside Washington, citing “ever-increasing regulations and lack of business understanding at an executive and legislative level.” The company said future expansion could happen in Utah, Idaho, or Montana instead.
DEVELOPING: Janicki Industries, an engineering & manufacturing company, announces it is "pursuing out-of-state growth" because of Washington state's bad policies:
“Decisions at the state level not only make it difficult for our employees to achieve the American Dream, but it is… pic.twitter.com/WUNFwgFBbw
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) May 1, 2026
Seattle’s broader economy is also under pressure. Downtown office vacancy rates have climbed above 35 percent as Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and other major employers reduce headcount and shrink office footprints.
Meanwhile, Washington lawmakers have continued advancing new taxes on businesses and high earners, including the state’s controversial “millionaire’s tax,” which critics warn could accelerate capital and talent leaving the state.
For critics of the state’s direction, the Soak & Sage announcement is another warning sign. Companies may still keep roots in Washington — but increasingly, their next phase of growth is happening somewhere else.
