Spa closure comes as two other family-owned companies, Steel & Metal Systems Inc. and Roll-Up Door, Inc., ramp up expansion and employee recruitment
Kelly’s Tanning Salon and Spa, located at 505 Main Street Blackshear, will close its doors October 31 to make room for expansion of Steel & Metal Systems Inc. and Roll-Up Door, Inc.
Watson and Eileen Coffee, owners of all three companies, made the announcement this week.
The closure process for Kelly’s begins today, August 31, but the decision follows an exhaustive review of the Coffee’s companies by an outside consultant.
Eileen Coffee has been the primary manager for Kelly’s since 2013.
“I am saddened that the time has come for us to close the salon and spa. I’ve enjoyed offering these services to more than 4,000 clients over the years, and will miss the relationships we’ve built with our customers,” she says. “At the same time, I’m looking forward to the growth of RDI and SAMS and the role we will continue to play in Pierce County.”
Kelly’s Tanning Salon & Spa currently employs two full-time and two part-time employees who will all receive a severance package.
Tanning packages at Kelly’s are billed monthly. All salon members will receive the full benefit of their services through the end of October, but no monthly packages will be sold past that point.
There will be no need for issuing refunds to clients. The salon will also offer weekly tanning packages as the closing date nears.
The timeline for closure of the salon aligns with their slow season.
“Time-wise, this couldn’t be better,” Eileen says.
Plans for the conversion of 2,500 square feet of space at the salon and spa into 15-20 offices for employees of SAMS and RDI are already underway. New outdoor signage — with a more industrial look —will go up shortly after Kelly’s officially closes in October. The remodel is slated to be complete by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
The salon closure comes as SAMS and RDI ramp up hiring to meet the demand of contracts already in the queue and expected growth.
“We already have that space, and while the salon has been profitable, it’s not comparable to the potential of RDI,” says Watson Coffee. “We provide more jobs this way, and our branding will be much more cohesive. The shared office space and our updated signage for RDI and SAMS will send a stronger message to the marketplace for our team companies.”
RDI currently has 15 employees and is on track to double that number by year-end. By the close of 2023, the company has plans to create an additional 40 to 50 on-site jobs. Those positions will include project managers, sales reps, marketing, accounting, purchasing, inventory, shipping and receiving jobs.
Employees for both companies work alongside each other at facilities on Main, Brantley, Memory and Park Streets and most recently at the former Big Z warehouse on Carter Ave. SAMS purchased that warehouse in December 2021 to accommodate their manufacturing expansion.
“The benefit to adapting Kelly’s Tanning Salon & Spa is that it will ultimately increase jobs in the area while solidifying our presence by creating a corporate headquarters for both SAMS and RDI,” said Ethan Ward, partner and COO of RDI.
About Roll-Up Door, Inc: RDI officially launched in March 2021. Watson Coffee, Ethan Ward, Hendry Howard, and Will Crawford partnered together to begin manufacturing steel roll-up doors in Blackshear. The roll-up doors are used in self storage facilities constructed by SAMS and other companies in the industry.
SAMS and RDI supply parts for self-storage facilities all over the country, but supply local contracts as well. They recently supplied parts and doors for Bears Den self-storage on U.S. Hwy. 84. To date, RDI has produced and shipped approximately 4,000 doors nationwide.
About Kelly’s Tanning Salon & Spa: The salon opened in 1993 as Kelly’s Curios in the Wall’s Plaza on Hwy. 84. In 2001, Kelly’s moved to Main Street. The salon was remodeled and rebranded as Kelly’s Tanning Salon in 2013 and again as a salon and spa in 2019 as the Coffees added spa services to the business. The spa continued to expand, adding services as recently as last year. All salon & spa equipment will be sold. Interested buyers may contact Eileen Coffee at 912-449-0029.
This press release was prepared by the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. For more information about the services and benefits available to Chamber members, contact CEO Sarah Gove at 912-449-7044.
