Small Town, Hot Idea

Body Guard

Karen Wieseler also decided to capitalize on the healthy lifestyle craze when she started Body Guard in 1989, a restaurant, health store and full salon serving the small farm community of Yankton, South Dakota.

The restaurant's menu caters to vegetarians, vegans and macrobiotic dieters. "People are always dieting or they come in wanting [something] for a diet, or they read a book that says they need this or that," Wieseler says. "If we don't have it, we order every week so we can have it within a couple of days."

The specialized menu is a way for Smith to offer diners something that surrounding restaurants lack. And she serves weight watchers and health-conscious eaters with the personal touch of a small-town restaurant.

In fact, she knows almost every person that walks through her doors and says most customers hear about Body Guard through word-of-mouth, although she still advertises on the local radio and in the newspaper.

Like O2 Fresh, the business' prime location -- downstream from Gavins Point Dam -- brings in out-of-town traffic and hungry travelers looking for a healthy way to satisfy their appetites, especially during Yankton's annual Riverboat Days celebration.

Aunt B's

While both the Mara sisters and Wieseler brought existing health trends to their areas, Beth Liautaud of Aunt B's Pet Resort and Spa in Deforest, Wisconsin, started one of the early bed-and-biscuit luxury pet resorts, which have become popular in the last few years.