By Emily Merrell, Photography by Melissa Donner, (Food photos submitted)

After Jaime and Chad King, owners of Body Indulgence Spa & Boutique, opened their new location at 2816 Creek Drive in April 2022, they decided to expand their business yet again by opening a restaurant to provide spa clients and the local community with a quiet place to relax and unwind.

The Kings have expanded their business several times since purchasing Body Indulgence in 2010. Initially, the spa was located on Nettleton Drive next to the former location of Tropical Smoothie Café; it then moved to Marketplace Drive three years later. In 2013, the business expanded again with a move to 2607 East Nettleton Drive. Still needing more space to expand their ever-growing business, the Kings built their new location on Creek Drive, which opened in 2022.

Their latest venture, Unwind, gives them the opportunity to provide yet another set of services to their clients – food, drinks and a place to gather and relax.

“We knew we wanted to create a location that gave us a place to offer an experience that was different than anything Jonesboro currently had,” said Jaime. “We wanted to create a small gathering place that could give a big city feel in a small town. Our first goal was to be able to offer cocktails, snacks and lunch to our current spa clients.  We also wanted to have a small place for gatherings such as birthdays, showers, graduations, etc. Our other objective was to create a more quiet place for people to get together, eat tapas (small plates of appetizers), enjoy craft cocktails and unwind with friends.”

Unwind offers light fare such as charcuterie boards, dips, salads, flatbreads and s’mores boards, as well as craft cocktails. King says some of their bestselling items include their smoked old fashioned cocktail, the dip trio, hot honey flatbread and the Betty Ann salad, a combination of mixed greens, strawberries, pecans, cranberries, ramen, green onions and vinaigrette dressing. Another popular option is the Unwind Experience, which includes a charcuterie board, hot dips, small plates, salads and dessert skillets available in various sizes to feed two, four or six people.

In addition to the restaurant’s bestselling menu items, Jaime says Unwind offers lots of other great options.

“Our hidden gems are definitely our lunches and brunches,” she said. “We offer Lunchboxes to go online for pickup. Our small plate sandwiches are some of my favorites. Reservations are not needed for lunch and brunch or dinner, but we highly recommend it for larger parties or special occasions since we are a small venue. We also offer weekly cocktail and food specials and a soup of the day.”

Unwind offers an extensive and unique brunch menu on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guests can enjoy many brunch options such as avocado toast, egg bites, omelette skillets and sandwiches. Brunch boards designed to feed up to six people are also available with options such as the pancake board, waffle board, breakfast board and breads board. Mimosas and bloody marys are also available during brunch.

Unwind also offers large orders and catering for events as large as 50 people. Customers can order sandwiches, dips, salads and charcuterie boards to be catered for special events or large groups.

Besides fulfilling the vision of providing spa customers with a place to grab a bite to eat and relax, the restaurant serves as a venue for special events. Unwind is available to rent for events such as birthdays, baby or wedding showers, graduation parties or corporate meetings, with catering also available.

The Kings also host unique events such as murder mystery dinners and wine tastings at Unwind.

“Our most popular event night is our Murder Mystery Theme Night,” said Jaime. “They are presold and interactive and super fun for couples or friend groups.”

Unwind recently hosted “Trailer Park Tragedy,” a uniquely themed murder mystery night, and the couple has plans for more murder mystery nights in the future.

Other popular events that will return in 2024 are the restaurant’s Unwind Night and Blind Tasting Night. During Unwind Night, guests are served four wines with cheese, meat and chocolate pairings. During its blind tasting events, Unwind serves four types of whiskey with a charcuterie board. Guests try to figure out the name and brand of each whiskey by taste only.

The Kings say they have enjoyed working together to make their vision for their business come to life.

“We work together as a team,” said Jaime. “Chad is great at promotion and sales and interacting with customers. I have strengths in all the business paperwork and marketing ideas. We will never ask anyone on our staff to do something we won’t do ourselves. You may catch either one of us at the front desk of the spa or behind the bar at Unwind.”

Unwind is located at 2816 Creek Drive. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, find Unwind on Facebook, visit unwindjboro.com or call (870) 919-4157.