Staci Paris wasn’t getting the feel for downtown Seattle when she tried it out a few days ago. She says her Bellini beauty bar, which opened in La Jolla last year, is ripe for expansion – and eclectic Seattle seemed like a logical choice for same. A few helpful suggestions from an ex-resident ideally sent her into some of the city’s funkier environs – such is the edgy concept behind her skin care and nail salon, which is hardly your father’s and mother’s.
Bellini, see, sells alcohol to its customers as they prepare for the rigors of the outside world. Or at least that’s the longer-range idea behind the business, La Jolla’s first and the area’s only. Auto showrooms, Laundromats, movie theaters, bookstores: The social lubricant of choice is popping up in all sorts of odd places as commerce comes to call – as for Bellini, slow and steady is the byword while the venue carefully settles into itself before committing to a full-bar menu. Presently, Bellini serves complimentary drinks of the same name; their texture and taste is not unlike that of a mimosa.
Not bad for a proprietor who only a short while ago knew nothing about the beauty industry.
“I never actually planned to open any kind of a retail business,” Paris said. “I was a tomboy playing volleyball, and I was a national sales manager for a jewelry company, and I lost my job, and I lost my life. I ended up hurting my back, so I couldn’t play volleyball any longer. I was looking for a sauna on craigslist, and up popped a business for sale that had a sauna in it.” To add to the mystery, the Russian couple who owned the business was deported before they could open.
Up to this point, tomboy Paris had had her nails done probably twice in her life – but she put herself in the places of friends from whom salons (and, arguably, saunas) are a pastime, determining that a full bar provided the perfect complement. The place, catering to the 28-to-35s, has become at once a venue for beauty services “and a place for women to hang out with likeminded woman while having a nice, refreshing break.” The firm can also plan your party or corporate event.
Business, Paris said, is up 33 percent from last year, Paris’ baptism by fire. “I had so much to learn about the beauty industry last year,” she said, “how things are done, regulations, protocols; it was interesting, to say the least. But we are looking at a pretty aggressive national expansion,” starting with forays into Seattle, Austin and downtown San Diego.
Bigger venues, a product line and, of course, the drink menu: A lot of Paris’ plans hinge on the success at La Jolla, the firm’s base model. But while beauty services come and go, Paris is persuaded she’s carving an industry niche. For her, La Jolla is where it all began – a few extra proof, and who knows where it could lead.
Bellini beauty bar is located at 6974 La Jolla Blvd. For more, see bellinibeautybar.com or call (858) 454-4700.