Photo by Layton Dudley
Fingers & toes Nails and Spa recently opened in Vestavia Hills.
Fingers & toes Nails and Spa may have only recently opened their doors on Aug. 25, but the idea has been on owner Ben Bui’s mind for over a year.
When Bui was working at other salons in the area, he said he picked up on a couple of things that he would do differently. It was only a matter of time before he broke off on his own to run a business his way.
“I just thought it was time,” he said. “Working for another shop or helping out a friend, you see things and hear things and you feel like you can do better. You take what you know they aren’t doing right because you hear customers talk about it and then you say, ‘When I have my own place I’m not going to do that.’”
His spa, located at 2512 Rocky Ridge Road, Suite 102 in Vestavia Hills, offers traditional manicure and pedicure services, as well as their exclusive Crystal Jelly signature pedicure. Bui said the Crystal Jelly Pedi supplies were brought to him by a friend from Houston, and he is the only business in the area to offer it.
Photo by Layton Dudley
Fingers & toes Nails and Spa recently opened in Vestavia Hills.
Bui said Fingers & toes staff also focuses on keeping use of foreign languages to a minimum, out of respect for clients who might not understand them.
“We do try to be not your typical Asian nail salon, in a sense that we avoid using our own language as much as possible. At least 95 percent of the time,” he said. “Other places say they don't, but sometimes a co-worker will say something to you, and you’ll answer them, and then it becomes a conversation without you thinking about it. We try not to do that.”
Bui said by making this a priority, it helps to make sure clients don’t wonder if they're being talked about, a concern he has heard before.
Another element of the space that stays on the top of Bui’s radar is cleanliness.
“We pride ourselves on being clean and sanitary,” Bui said. “Everybody you talk to and everybody who comes in, the first thing they mention is cleanliness.”
The inside of the store is stocked with polish, luxury spa equipment and several fish tanks. “I love my fish tanks,” Bui said.
Make an appointment or check out more about the business on their website or Facebook page.
Editor's note: The October edition of Vestavia Voice incorrectly listed Fingers & toes Nails and Spa in the Business Happenings section in the "Closed" section instead of the "Now Open" section. A corrected listing will be included in next month's paper.
