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Wytheville Enterprise
http://www.swvatoday.com/comments/sip_and_clip/news/1067/
Monday, November 5, 2007
By Wayne
Quesenberry
LBC meet ABC.
Luxury Beauty Concepts is the first and only Wythe County
salon and day spa licensed to serve beer and wine to its clientele. The
Wytheville business already offered free bottled water and soft drinks.
“A lot of salons and spas in larger areas have served drinks for a while,”
noted Mary Beth Belcher, who co-owns and operates Luxury Beauty Concepts with
Margaret Sutherland. “My sister is an attorney and a friend of hers told us
about a nail place where she goes in Roanoke
that has an ABC license. We thought it was a neat idea.”
Sutherland added, “It’s really about marketing the business. It’s for people
who usually go home after work, have a drink before they go back out to run
errands and then don’t go back out. Here, they can come in, have a glass of
beer or wine, relax and have a spa treatment.”
Belcher of Rocky Gap and Sutherland of Rural Retreat worked together previously
as hair stylists at another Wytheville salon. They decided to become partners
in their own business venture, opening Luxury Beauty Concepts in the Wythe Shopping
Plaza, 800 East Main Street, in August 2006.
“We chose this location because it’s in the middle of town,” Sutherland
commented. “It’s easy access from anywhere in town and everybody knows where
the DMV is. The owners of the shopping center are supposed to remodel, too.”
“We updated our place,” Belcher said. “Mainly with equipment.”
The partners also chose to add a day spa to their salon, complete with full
body massages, manicures, pedicures and waxing. They have two full-time
employees, Sarah Sumner, hair stylist and manicurist; and Shannon Underwood,
licensed massage therapist.
“One of the requirements of our ABC license is that we must have a full-time
licensed massage therapist,” Belcher pointed out. “We’ve always had a massage
therapist.”
She and Sutherland had wanted to serve wine and beer from the beginning of
their partnership. They applied to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic
Beverage Control for a license over a year ago and received it Sept. 4 of this
year.
“There was lots of paperwork,” Belcher said. “The ABC Board does an extensive
check and there are a lot of regulations, such as we can’t sell the drinks,
only a customer can be served, a customer can only have one glass of wine or
beer and we have to keep the beer and wine in a separate locked refrigerator.”
They also check IDs carefully.
“It’s been worth it,” Sutherland stated. “None of our customers have complained
about it. We have a lot of families here. You don’t even notice someone having
a drink really.”
Luxury Beauty Concepts only serves Budweiser products. It plans to add a variety
of wines from local vineyards.
Afternoons and evenings are peak serving times. All beverages are served in
glasses.
According to ABC spokesman Kristy Marshall in Richmond, the day spa liquor license was
established in July 2005. As of Aug. 6, 2006, there were six licenses granted
in the state with two others pending.
“The next closest one is in Roanoke County,” Marshall
commented. “It’s the Best Little Hair House and Day Spa in Vinton. “There’s one
in Virginia Beach and another in Fairfax.”
Luxury Beauty Concepts is open Monday through Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. Its
hours vary depending on need.
“We work by appointment,” Belcher said, “but we do take walk-ins.”
Sutherland added, “We started with a good business. A lot of our customers from
before have followed us here. Business has been great.”
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