About Us

In the New York of the late 1980s and ’90s, Marshall Sohne—a lawyer and real estate developer—and Danny Levy, the proprietor of Mintz Poultry in East New York, would escape the chaos of city life with a visit to one of the city’s banyas or schvitzes. At the turn of the 20th century, these bathhouses sprang up out of necessity, as tenement apartments had only cold running water, and yet they evolved over a century into something more: a democratic sanctuary where the only uniform was a towel, and where schvitz meant not just “sweat” but community. By the time Marshall and Danny would go for their regular steam and platza (a traditional oak leaf treatment), these places had become the embodiment of the city where they were built: rich in history, populated by “characters,” and unlike anywhere else.

Marshall and Danny loved the tradition, but they saw the potential for something more. Together with their business partner, Bob Pollock, they envisioned something upscale, cutting-edge, and open to everyone. A place where both men and women could come not only for a restorative steam, but for massages, facials, body treatments, and organic teas. Their spa would be rooted in New York’s scrappy bathhouse history, but reimagined for its exciting and dynamic future.

None of them had attempted a project like this before, but their skills were uniquely complementary: Marshall’s development experience, Danny’s years running a retail operation, and Bob’s hospitality background. The vision came into focus with the purchase of 27–29 Great Jones Street in NoHo, a space as quintessentially New York as the Lower East Side bathhouses. Donated to the city in 1789, by Samuel Jones (“the father” of the New York Bar Association), and on a block that was later home to Warhol and Basquiat, the building was in the heart of Bowery’s legendary restaurant supply district. A neighborhood already showing signs of its upscale future, while retaining its hard-scrabble soul.

Building a 15,000-square-foot subterranean water lounge beneath lower Manhattan was a feat; getting a loan for a spa was harder. Each partner invested more and more of their own money over the grueling five-year construction process, refusing to cut corners: repurposing granite from the original building for the Russian room, designing every space around the ancient principle that water is the ultimate source of rejuvenation. The Great Jones Spa opened its doors in 2004, and the flood of celebrities, artists, and those at the center of New York life who flocked to the brand-new space would set the tone for the success that was to follow.

Despite the celebrities and glitz, the Great Jones Spa has always remained a family story. The Spa is a tribute to Marshall’s wife, Ellen, who passed in 2018, and was the one who urged him not to sell in the early years, as the space had become somewhere for them to escape the stresses of everyday life together. It is also a monument to Danny Levy, who passed in 2022, and who ran the spa since its opening. It was Danny who watched over the operation, building a culture of high standards and customer care that became the spa’s hallmark. Many of the core group of employees that Danny hired are still at the Spa to this day– Inga Gordon, Yan Jimenez, Ramon Mendez, Mileidy Sanchez, Karen Terranova, have all been consistent presences, shaping the spa’s unique identity since those early years.

In the years since, the spa market has exploded. What Great Jones Spa pioneered has been imitated across the city. However, like the city itself, the Great Jones Spa keeps growing and innovating. Under the leadership of Marshall’s sons Zev and Noah, Danny’s son Eli, and Danny’s wife, Lee, the Great Jones Spa has again pushed ahead of the competition, with major renovations to the reception area, couples massage rooms, locker rooms, and facade, as well as a brand new pre-massage serenity lounge. A full-service Kettl teashop, featuring teas imported directly from Japan, will be opening at the Spa soon.

Born from a bathhouse tradition stretching back to the 1890s, built on one of Manhattan’s most storied streets, and now renewed for a city that seems to know no limits, the story of Great Jones Spa has always been the story of New York. Thankfully, the next chapter promises to be the best one yet.