Salon Meraki’s founding location at 1101 Queen Street will quadruple in size when it expands into a neighboring space this fall.
Kathleen Le opened her 900 square-foot nail salon on November 1, 2017, and hopes to keep the tradition alive with a November 1 opening at 300 N. Henry Street, which was previously occupied by ARC Document Solutions. She also owns a second salon at 320 King Street.
“Ever since I opened my salon, I always dreamed of expanding it to a bigger space,” Le told ALXnow. “Finally that opportunity came when the printing company moved out.”
The move will expand Le’s footprint to about 3,600 square feet at the corner of Queen and N. Henry Streets in Old Town. That means expanding to 19 pedicure chairs (up from six) and hiring new staff. Le will train employees without experience and prep them to take the State Board test to become certified nail technicians.
“The address has the numbers 1101, and I want to keep the November 1 tradition alive,” Le said. “If that doesn’t happen I do hope to open at around Christmas at the latest.”
After emigrating from Vietnam to the area in the mid-1990s with her family, Le embarked on a 25-year career as a nail technician before opening her own brick and mortar.
“We don’t treat clients like number,” Le said. “Most people say that all they really wanted was an escape. They spend 45 minutes or an hour with us, and we make them feel like a million bucks.”
Staff and clients at Salon Meraki wear face masks at all times, and clients are given a temperature check upon entry.
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If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.
If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
