Skyrocketing rents in Soho and no space to grow shuttered a celebrity beauty spa after nearly two decades, leaving fans including Diane von Furstenberg and Estelle looking for new beauty wellness.
Eighteen years ago, co-founders and friends Gabrielle Ophals and Audra Senkus plunked down $750,000 to launch the business and build out their Haven Spa, plus a year’s worth of rent upfront and a few months’ worth to float on. They closed Haven on Mercer Street in July. Their second business, Eve in Greenwich Village, was forced out due to a monstrous rent increase when Kate Spade moved in. The rent quadrupled from $5,000 to $20,000, so they moved locations.
The duo just reopened Haven four blocks up on Mercer Street with new treatments like The Bitch Massage, which targets pressure points on the feet for relief of PMS symptoms ($140 for 60 minutes), and a “lunchtime detox” is also on the menu, Julie Earle-Levine reports. Another hot item, the Makizushi wrap, a detoxifying body treatment, is popular with models. Paris Hilton was at the spa last week — no word on her choice of treatment.