Entrepreneurs bring Hand & Stone
Massage to Brandon
·
By Eric Vician, Times Correspondent
Friday, November 8, 2013
12:12pm
Eric Vician | Special to the Times
Manager Katie
Beasley, left, stands with Rene Tirado, who along with business partners Jim
and Connie Weaver opened Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa at 11009
Causeway Blvd.
Rene Tirado and Jim
Weaver know a few things about retail and franchising. They went into business
together in 2001, opening Plato's Closet in Carrollwood, and have since opened
four more of the consignment stores in Tampa, Brandon, Lakeland and Wesley
Chapel.
But their latest
franchising venture can be attributed to Jim's wife, Connie, who bought Jim a
gift certificate to the Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa. The present, a
three-hour massage, went unused for a year and a half. Then, after Connie
threatened to regift it, Jim grudgingly redeemed it.
"He was blown
away by the whole process," Tirado said.
Within hours, the
business partners had researched the company and were on a flight to Hand &
Stone's corporate office in New Jersey. They were sold on massages and opened a
new location last month at 11009 Causeway Blvd. They also bought the existing
Hand & Stone location in Palm Harbor.
"When we went
up there, we were looking for why not to do it," Tirado said of the trip
to Hamilton, N.J. "We felt great about it."
Hand & Stone
specializes in massages with smooth river stones that are heated to 120
degrees. But unlike other spas that simply place the hot stones on your back,
the Hand & Stone massage therapists implement them as part of the massage
process.
A one-hour hot stone
massage costs $59.95 for new clients. Other introductory offers include a
one-hour massage for $39.95 or facial from an esthetician for $49.95. Or you
may choose to become a member and for $49.95 a month, you can enjoy any massage
or facial once every 30 days at any of the more than 140 locations nationwide.
The
2,200-square-foot spa has eight rooms for massages and facials, including
couples rooms. The Brandon location is the 14th in Florida and is open from 8
a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sundays.
Call (813) 409-3848
for an appointment or visit handandstone.com.
If you know of something that
should be Everybody's Business, email Eric Vician at ericvician@yahoo.com.
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