By JAMES EIK
Staff Reporter
A new Medical Lake salon will not only cut, trim and style, but also seek to educate aspiring salon students as they learn their craft.
Vu Duong, who with his wife, T, owns T's Nail and Spa in Airway Heights, said that the tentative opening date for the school is at the start of next year. But, nothing has been set in stone.
Located next to the One-Fourteen Tavern, there is little to note the building's transformation, aside from coverings in the store's front windows. The old bait and tackle sign are still displayed on the building's front. But with a little help, Duong has turned the interior on its head, into what will be a sleek and professional business.
The interior, which is in the middle of the construction phase, has new walls that are sheet rocked, textured and painted. Before any of that could be finished, however, the roof needed some heavy duty work.
“The roof was leaking, but we put a new roof in, and put insulation in from top to bottom, practically everything,” Duong said.
Next in line for completion is electric work. Flooring will eventually be placed, as well as heating and cooling systems. From there, the blues, reds and greens inside the shop will help add a clean and modern look to the interior.
The salon won't just be doing hair, but will also contain a tanning section and a station for nails.
Once completed, Duong's shop will join a growing number of hair salons in Medical Lake.
“My goal is not to put any other salon out of business,” Duong said. “I have a different approach, to bring something nice to the community. This is a place where they can come in after a hard day of work, relax and have some work done.”
While other locations may charge more for their services, the salon will be able to keep prices low by having students practice their skills.
“When you go into a beauty salon, you pay to get a haircut, a professional haircut,” Duong said. “But then you can come here and pay to get a practice haircut. It'll be a lot cheaper, maybe half price.”
The plan is for professionals around the area to help teach students at the salon.
Duong and his wife moved to the area 10 years ago while she was enrolled in classes at Eastern Washington University. T began a job doing nail work at Shearly Unique in Airway Heights.
Four months later, she needed a bigger space.
“So we rented where we are now, about 500 square feet,” Duong said.
A year and a half went by, and the building's owner asked if they could move to the other half of the building, which was 1,500 square feet. Eventually, they purchased the building from the retiring owner in 2006, and expanded their business.
“And now it's 2011, five years later, and we bought this place,” Duong said.
He said that opening a business in an economic downturn can be challenging.
“It is tough, but to do a good business, you have to figure an exit route,” he said.
To complete the shop by its tentative opening date, Duong pulls long days at the construction site. He said, however, that it's nice because there is no fixed schedule.
“I was out here until 8:30 last night, came out here at 7:30 this morning, and plan to work until it's done,” he said.
Although Duong hopes to wrap construction up at the end of the year, he emphasized that nothing is for certain. Weather and other factors can play a large role in the ultimate completion date for the salon.
“I normally tell people not to expect anything until it's happened,” he said.
While there is still much work to be finished, Duong was excited for the final product to be in place.
“It's not done yet, but it will look great,” he said.
James Eik can be reached at [email protected].
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