Thorold residents wanting to make their nails look glamorous have a new address to go to, as Glamour Nails and Spa recently opened its doors on Front Street.
“There’s a need in Thorold,” says co-owner John Grimaldi, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “There’s a lot of areas but I like Thorold because it’s centered.”
Grimaldi owns the salon together with his wife Hanh Doan.
“She’s been doing it for years and years,” says Grimaldi. “This is hers. I helped build it and I try and support. This is her gig.”
Doan used to own a nail salon in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she is from.
After moving to Niagara 15 years ago, Doan wanted to continue on in the business, so together with Grimaldi, she started several successful local nail salons, which the couple eventually all sold.
Now, they've decided to get back into the game by opening a nail salon on Front Street.
Doan says that her favourite aspect of being a nail technician is making people look beautiful.
“I’ve been doing this job for a long time,” she says. “You work longer, you have more experience and you do good.”
Doan keeps up to date on the latest nail fashions through magazines and social media.
“It’s spring and summer so a lot of people wear something bright,” she says. “Usually people follow the season. Every season they wear a different colour.”
Glamour Nails and Spa boasts more than 300 colours for costumers to choose from.
While the clientele is 90 percent female, there are also some men who come in for pedicures.
“It’s kind of taboo but you don’t want ugly feet either,” says Grimaldi.
The couple has two children so juggling business and home life is a balancing act.
“I did the construction and stuff while she did the support at home,” says Grimaldi. “Now it’s her turn to take the ball and kick it down the road and I’ll support back home.”
The salon offers services such as nail extensions and design, manicures and pedicures, as well as facial waxing.
Grimaldi says that the secret of the salon’s success is Doan.
“She jokes, she socializes — that’s why people like her,” he says. “There’s a lot of people good at nails but you need personality. It’s her personality that sets her apart from other people.”
