Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Richmond salon company buys SpaVa
The owner is selling the Roanoke Valley business to spend more time with family.
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After 11 years, a Roanoke Valley business well known for pampering its clients has sold out to a Richmond spa and salon company.
Salon del Sol acquired SpaVa Premier Day Spa's businesses in Salem and Roanoke last week.
Robyn Goodpasture, who started SpaVa in 1998 in Salem, sold her growing day spa and salon venture because of its demands on her home life. The mother of three children, ages 6 to 9, Goodpasture, 38, realized that she was too busy running the business to spend time with her family.
"I've killed myself for 11 years," said Goodpasture, who opened a second SpaVa location on Franklin Road in Roanoke last year. Goodpasture and her husband, Richard, invested more than $2 million to purchase and remodel a 12,000-square-foot former doctor's office building for the Franklin Road spot, which includes an Aveda hair salon.
Still, Goodpasture said her husband was "concerned about our kids and my life."
About a month ago, he approached the owners of Salon del Sol about selling the business. Robyn Goodpasture would not disclose the sale price, but she said the purchase includes SpaVa's assets, client lists and products.
Salon del Sol is leasing the Roanoke and Salem spaces from the Goodpastures, who own the real estate. Salon del Sol, started in 1995, sells Aveda products and spa and salon services. Aveda manufactures plant-based skin care, makeup, hair care and related products.
The timing of the SpaVa purchase was right for Salon del Sol's owners, Bob and Denise Latham. They reside in the Roanoke Valley and in the Richmond area, spending equal time in both places. They already were searching for a space to open a Salon del Sol on Franklin Road.
"Even with the economy being what it is, our business was still continuing to grow here," Denise Latham said.
Last year, Salon del Sol opened a small storefront in Roanoke at the District at Valley View. Like some of its other mall shops in the Richmond area, the District's Salon del Sol only houses an Aveda hair salon and sells certain products.
There are four Salon del Sol locations in Richmond and its surrounding counties, and a fifth one is planned.
In Roanoke, there are plans to hire more hairstylists for Salon del Sol's new shops. It will keep most of the approximately 45 employees who worked for SpaVa.
Also, the new Salon del Sol on Braeburn Drive in Salem will undergo minor renovations to make room for hair services. It does not have a salon.
Meanwhile, Robyn Goodpasture will stay involved in some aspects of the health business. She'll remain the owner of Fit Studio 365, a personal training business housed inside the Salon del Sol building on Franklin Road. She'll also continue to operate the Center for Bariatric Medicine, which provides physician-supervised weight loss programs. She will sell Rejuva Rejuvenation Spa.
She's also making plans to open small local makeup studios to sell Bare Escentuals cosmetics, which she already sells in Roanoke and Salem.
