Luxurious facials last an hour, often have to be scheduled in advance and don’t come cheap. But one local company plans to change all that.
Face Haus of Studio City is a facial concept store that offers quick, relatively cheap facials for men, women and teens. The company opened a second location in West Hollywood last week.
Co-founders Karey Burke, Dawn Olmstead and Jennifer Worley thought of the idea after Olmstead treated the trio’s teenage daughters to facials at a birthday party. The girls loved it and wanted more, but the three moms said no way.
“It was time-consuming and super expensive,” Worley said.
That got them thinking about Irvine salon chain Drybar, which offers a quick, inexpensive blow-drying service.
“The birth of the single-service industry was happening, and Drybar was on the cover of Forbes, and we said, ‘Why doesn’t something like this exist in the skin care world for facials?’” Worley said.
The first Face Haus opened in Studio City in January, and Worley said the success of that location indicated it would be a good fit in West Hollywood. (The new location is next door to a Drybar.)
Its new 800-square-foot space features an open layout with seven facial stations.
It uses several luxury skin care products from brands such as Dermalogica, SkinCeuticals and Lancer. Both locations offer nine 30-minute facials, including a peel for damaged and acne-prone skin, and an exfoliating facial for men. All facials cost $45, compared with $100 or more at some spas. Additional 10-minute specialty treatments are available for $10.
Fired Up
The kitchen’s heating up for build-your-own artisan pizza restaurant Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza of Pasadena.
Co-founders Rick and Elise Wetzel, the duo behind Wetzel’s Pretzels, opened a location in Canoga Park this month and expects to open 19 more by the end of this year – bring the total number to 54.
By 2017, the company plans to expand to more than 300 locations, thanks to a long list of franchisees who have signed up this year, Rick Wetzel said.
The company announced two franchise deals in January and the number has since grown to 35.
Wetzel said the company’s growth is in line with that of other fast-casual restaurant chains.
“The big trend in restaurant over the last few years was the better-burger category,” he said. “Now, the better-pizza category is taking off.”
When he launched the company with his wife in 2012, Wetzel said the two were simply looking for a place that served great pizza for lunch.
“We didn’t know the potential of this category,” he said.
Revolving Doors
Luxury department store Barneys New York in Beverly Hills will be opening an Italian-inspired and contemporary American restaurant called Freds this week. It will be on the store’s recently renovated fifth floor, which carries men’s designer clothing and shoes. … Specialty beverage retailer BevMo! of San Francisco will be opening a location in Marina del Rey this week. In addition to beverages, the store will sell gourmet food items, glassware and bar accessories. … Candy store It’Sugar, founded by Jeff Rubin, who also launched Dylan’s Candy Bar, opened on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica last week. … Los Feliz-based designer Amanda Shi-Werts launched her brand Amanda Shi Collection last week at retailer American Rag Cie in Hancock Park. … Chef Vic Casanova opened his second restaurant, Pistola, an Italian steakhouse, last month near the Grove. … Italian clothing brand Dsquared opened its first L.A. boutique last month in Beverly Hills. The 5,200-square-foot space, formerly home to Italian luxury brand Etro, carries men’s and women’s clothing. … Dog Haus, a gourmet hot-dog restaurant in Pasadena, will be opening locations in West Covina and Santa Ana this month. Sites in Burbank and Thousand Oaks are scheduled to open by the end of the year. … Aharon Coffee & Roasting Co., co-founded by Aharon Vaknin and his wife, BatSheva, opened in Beverly Hills last month. … Furniture company Bend relocated last month from Marina del Rey to a new showroom in West Hollywood. … Online glasses retailer Warby Parker opened a free-standing brick-and-mortar store in Venice last month, its first on the West Coast. … Plan Check Kitchen + Bar opened in downtown Los Angeles last month, its third location.
Staff reporter Subrina Hudson can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.
