A Different ‘Sidewalk’ In Front Of This Phenix Salon Franchise

A downtown Chicago Phenix Salon is a short distance from the city’s Lake Shore Drive and the Magnificent Mile.

Inside the Chicago location of Timothy Baumruck’s Phenix Salon location, the walls are covered with the signature chocolate browns, mauve and caramels that immediately evoke the sentient warmth and care provided by the Phenix professionals in the 35 suites.

Step outside and find something a bit different for a Phenix franchise, proof of their extraordinary versatility. The client has just had her nails done in cherry and her chestnut hair is propped in a flawless bun for a Holiday party. She steps onto the broad sidewalk as bright yellow taxis dart side-to-side in the street. She unfolds the collar of her long coat and smiles at the dusky sky as a flurry of heavy snowflakes fall between the skyscrapers. At 100 East Walton Street, this is a very urban neighborhood of shops, hotels and condos, less than a block from the city’s Magnificent Mile on one side and the inexhaustible nightlife of Rush Street on the other.

“It is a really cool location,” said Baumruck. The cost of a typical service in this part of the city is four or five times typical prices, and that presents opportunity and challenge, he said. Maybe one or two units are available at a given time and professionals have relocated their businesses from as far as 25 miles to be there.

In addition to hairstylists, the location is home to manicurists and other professionals offering eyelash extensions, Botox and permanent makeup, among other services. “So we have a pretty broad mix,” said Baumruck. “It’s a very busy place. Always jammed.”

For lease information, call 877.787.6685.

Baumruck has two other beautiful locations in Illinois at 91 Randhurst Village Drive, in Mt. Prospect, and 530 East Golf Road in Schaumburg. He is currently scouting for three to five more locations to open in 2014.