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Allure spa comes to Boardman
boardman
It was by accident that Anthony Fini decided to open his second spa.
The 20-year veteran of the beauty industry was just looking to buy equipment at a former spa facility in Boardman when the opportunity arose.
“I started talking with the [landlord],” Fini said. “We were joking, and he said, ‘Why don’t you open it?’”
Fini laughed at the idea, thinking the site was too far from his Mentor location for him to travel regularly. It took a week before he’d changed his mind.
“I decided to take the chance or whatever you want to call it — the opportunity,” Fini said.
The sign for Aqua Medi Spa and Salon, which closed more than a year ago, still hangs out front, but Allure Spa & Salon opened for business Tuesday. The 6,400-square-foot facility at 1111 Boardman-Canfield Road employees a staff of 14 equipped to provide an array of hair, nail and massage services.
Fini, 47, has owned a hair salon in Mentor for the past 20 years and plans to open a second Mentor location in a month, making for three locations total. He decided to go with the Boardman area because of its people. “Part of the reason it’s attractive is because there are a lot of ethnic people, Italians, Lebanese,” Fini said. “I’m a strong believer in family.”
Fini emigrated from Italy with his parents and sister when he was 11. His father, Francesco, worked in construction and came to the states for better employment.
“He worked hard every day,” Fini said.
Fini’s father died shortly before his first salon opened in Mentor, and Fini named the business, Francesco’s Salon & Spa, after him.
Fini is optimistic about a new venture in Boardman.
“It kind of feels homey,” he said. “There are lots of different little shops and restaurants.”
“Mom-and-pop places,” added Micheline Thompson, Fini’s business consultant.
Thompson described Fini as hands-on to the extreme, helping with anything from styling to painting and plumbing.
“It’s always scary when you open up a new business, but I like the opportunity,” Fini said.
And though the elder Fini didn’t make his living snipping hair, love of the beauty industry is strong in the family. Fini’s son Francesco, who goes by Frank, will graduate from the Brown Aveda Institute in February and begin an apprenticeship with his father soon after.
“I always wanted to be like my dad,” Frank, 21, said.
Allure Salon & Spa, 330-729-3000, is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.