What the Prep Work Has Been Like to Reopen Nail Salons
"It has been a long road waiting for when we can reopen our doors, but we had spent a few months preparing and our team has been very hands-on in the entire process," Yiota Kourtesis, director of people and store operations at Chillhouse, a New York City-based nail salon, told POPSUGAR. Michelle Saunders James owner of Saunders & James Nail Care in Oakland, California agreed: "I feel as though I've been trying to prepare to open since March 16. There have been so many starts and stops with the country, state, and county it has my head spinning."
For Saunders James, her nail salon hasn't been able to reopen just yet, but they have recently received more information from the state as to what will be expected when they do. "Even though we don't have a date to reopen, I'm still preparing just in case."
"When we first closed in mid-March, we had no idea we would be only reopening just two weeks ago."
In New York City, nail salons reopened just recently in phase three. "When we first closed in mid-March, we had no idea we would be only reopening just two weeks ago, on Monday, July 6," said Jane Hong, the CEO of New York City-based nail salon, Paintbox. Leaning on other businesses has been key in this learning process for them. "We participate in virtual mixers with other businesses in the Madison Ave community where we learn the best practices for salons and luxury retail along the Upper East Side."