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(03/24/05 4:08am)
Although nearly 100 beauty salons already exist in Bloomington, Nelda Colglazier, Betty Stotler and Pornchanok (Waew) Chantar found a niche in this health-aware community. Their joint venture, Élan Salon (pronounced a-lan), is the only salon in town that offers acupuncture.\nStotler, the salon's master designer, said they knew each other for years and worked together in a salon before deciding last year to venture on their own.\n"We felt like it was time to have our own business," she said.\nThe three looked for a location and ended up at Suite 322 in Fountain Square. The benefits they saw were the downtown location is walking distance from IU and a nearby garage for customers.\nWith the help of the estate owner's construction crew, the place was set up and ready to open Jan. 21.\n"However, for the first two weeks, we had to use rented equipment because the ordered equipment was not yet delivered," said Conglazier, the salon's manager.\nCurrently, Élan is well-equipped and employs four hairstylists.\nOpen daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., the salon is usually busy in the morning and early afternoon, particularly on weekends, said Chantar, another master designer. On average, the salon has 20 customers per day -- a balance between males and females. Most of its clients are working people, both at IU and elsewhere.\nBesides haircutting, highlighting and general spa services, Élan also offers acupuncture treatment by a licensed acupuncturist, Shauna Burton. A graduate from the Texas College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Burton said acupuncture is a non-invasive, gentle way to help balance the body's energy and bring the body back into health. It also helps cure stress, pain and chronic problems.\nShe also said back pain and pain in general are why people usually go for the acupuncture "because people don't know that acupuncture can be good for other things, such as diabetes."\nAlthough acupuncture is new to Bloomingtonians, Burton sees it growing. \n"Bloomington is a wellness community," said Burton, also a licensed herbalist. "People here take good care of themselves, and acupuncture fits well into that lifestyle."\nShe added that many citizens like natural healing and are willing to try new methods. \nMichael Jones, a Ph.D. student, said he was glad the salon offers acupuncture and he enjoyed the treatment he received.\n"I felt very relaxed and renewed," Jones said.\nHe also found the combination of a beauty salon and an acupuncture center very interesting.\n"It's like taking care of the body from inside out," said Jones.\nDespite its unique services, Conglazier believes the quality service is what attracts the salon's clients the most. The clients are their guests who become friends, she said.\n"You will always want to have things they can read, provide them something to drink," she said.\nChantar also added that it is crucial to listen to what clients want.\n"Above all, you would like them to be happy, not a moody face walking around," she said. \n"That's why we choose the name Élan, to show enthusiasm about what we do with our clients," Conglazier said. \nAlthough the salon has been open for only two months, the owners find the clients' responses are very positive, and new clients arrive every day.\nIn a year's time, the owners hope their salon will grow and expand more into student clientele. \n"One thing we'll probably do when we get more organized is actually send out letters to fraternities and sororities," Conglazier said. "But I think the biggest form of advertising is still through word of mouth."\nWhile there are many salons in Bloomington, the three are not afraid of the competition. They believe that their honesty and professionalism will make them succeed. \n"The cream always rises to the top," said Conglazier.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Sopaporn Saeung at ssaeung@indiana.edu.
(03/03/05 4:06am)
While many stores have decided to leave College Mall within the last few years, Chick-fil-A owner Bryan Kelso saw an opportunity and took over the mall restaurant in March 2004.\nThe 30-year-old owner was first introduced to the Chick-fil-A business model four years ago working as an accountant in Atlanta. He decided to apply for an operatorship and entered a two-year training program under an approved operator. Upon completing his training, Kelso was given several options as to where he could run his store. Bloomington was his top choice.\n"What drew us here was that it's a college town -- very different from a typical Midwestern small town," Kelso said. "Bloomington has a strong international flavor. Plus, we felt that it's a growing and stable community."\nHe also said he found Bloomington very friendly in a way very similar to the southern hospitality he knew. \nThe store changed hands between three previous operators since it opened in 1991.\nKelso found the store's sales during his first year of leadership slightly off, because of the construction of College Mall, which blocked his entrance for nearly six months.\n"Also, the prior operator has let the image of the store slide a little bit. Plus, we were up against new competition coming in," Kelso said, referring to the Subway and Panera Bread chain locations nearby. \nKelso also said last year chicken prices were at a 10-year high. \nBut Chick-fil-A catering in January and February was up 20 and 50 percent, respectively, he said. \n"Outside catering really fuels our business," Kelso said. "It tends to be 10 to 40 percent of our everyday sales."\nHowever, Kelso said many people don't know Chick-fil-A caters, and the business needs to reach out more to IU. \nAnother challenge for Chick-fil-A is the healthy eating trend, which makes the brand adapt to a new strategy. Even customers can sense the change.\n"Compared with my childhood memories, I feel Chick-fil-A is trendier now," said graduate student Sayako Kimura. "I feel they are putting more emphasis on salad and fruits, while before there were only fried chicken and nuggets."\nKelso said the store has rolled out several new products for health-conscious customers, such as char-grilled chicken sandwiches, fresh fruit and salads, which received good responses from consumers.\nKelso said the char-grilled chicken sandwich is healthier than many of Subway's, containing only 3.5 grams of fat. \n"Our challenge is to educate people that the options here are healthy," Kelso said.\nFollowing a national trend among quick-service restaurants, Chick-fil-A is expanding at the rate of 60 to 70 free-standers per year and is planning to build a free-stander in Bloomington in 2006.\nAs of now, Kelso, who hopes to run the new free-stander, said he believes the College Mall location will stay open.\n"In the long run, it gives the company a presence and an opportunity to continue to build customer awareness," he said. "It also gives them time to see where the best location (for the free-stander) would be."\nThroughout his first year in Bloomington, Kelso said one of the most common questions he has from his customers is why the store closes on Sundays. He explained that although the real reason was probably the exhaustion from work, the Chick-fil-A founder decided to honor that day as a family day, giving his employees an opportunity to attend religious ceremonies or to spend time with their family. \nJoshua Counts, Chick-fil-A employee and Bloomington High School South student, said he enjoys this policy.\n"You work a lot and it is nice to have a day off," Counts said. "You can relax and get to see people you serve outside of work and have conversation with them."\nKelso said the closed-on-Sunday policy emphasizes the underlying foundation of the company -- Chick-fil-A cares about people.\n"Chick-fil-A is not in the chicken business," he said. "We are in (the) people business."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Sopaporn Saeung at ssaeung@indiana.edu.
(10/14/04 6:27am)
After 27 years of serving Bloomington residents, Chi-Chi's, the Mexican restaurant chain, closed its doors. But to some patrons, the closing caused no grief.\nSayako Kimura, a graduate student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said her last visit to Chi-Chi's destroyed her childhood memories of the restaurant. \n"When I was younger, the place was very popular. Lots of people had to wait in a long line. I remembered I had good memories (of) it," said Kimura, who lived in Lexington, Ky., 12 years ago. \nKimura said she and her family were regular customers at Chi-Chi's, dining at the restaurant at least once a month. \n"Back then there weren't many Mexican restaurants in Lexington, unlike Los Angeles or other big cities. Chi-Chi's was one of the few Mexican places. It's like, if you want to have Mexican food, you go there," Kimura said.\nKimura spent a decade in Japan before returning to the United States for her graduate studies at IU last fall. She was excited to see the Bloomington Chi-Chi's just off of Third Street, which had been there since 1984. \n"I was really looking forward to (going) there," Kimura said. "But when I was there, it wasn't as good. The atmosphere was less lively than I remembered. The service was so-so. The food was kind of disappointing. The side dishes, like the beans, were like out of can and microwaved. At least to me, I don't think they put the effort to make the food look good. Also, I think it's expensive for the quality. As much as I want to eat Mexican food, I don't think I want to go back there again."\nBut even if she wanted to, Kimura couldn't go back to Chi-Chi's because the restaurant ceased its operations Sept. 20 after Outback Steakhouse settled a $42.5 million deal for the rights to 76 restaurants in the Chi-Chi's chain. The Bloomington store's personnel included 53 employees and four managers when it closed. \nJoseph Kadow, senior vice president for Outback Steakhouse, told USA Today the deal did not include Chi-Chi's brand, its restaurant operation or any recipes.\nPrior to Outback's successful bid, Chi-Chi's was already declining. Last fall, a Chi-Chi's restaurant in Beaver County, Pa., faced a hepatitis A outbreak that killed four and made 660 people ill. About 325 victims filed claims seeking damages from the company, 150 of which have been settled with $7 million paid out, according to USA Today. A few weeks before the outbreak, Chi-Chi's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections.\nStephanie Amberg, Outback's director of public relations, said it is not clear yet what they will do with each of 76 properties nationwide. \n"Because there are many restaurant locations, we don't have plans for each location yet," Amberg said. \nOutback will still need some weeks before making its final decisions, Amberg said. Until then, Bloomington's Chi-Chi's restaurant will remain closed. \nOne of the possibilities is to convert the former Chi-Chi's into one of Outback's restaurant brands, including it's signature Outback Steakhouse, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bars, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, and Cheeseburger in Paradise. Another option is to sell the property.\nKelly Drake, program coordinator at the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, said she is not surprised to hear that Chi-Chi's has closed down. \n"We received a lot of notices from the Health Department, which tells us that certain food from certain places is contaminated so that we do not take such donations. The warnings about Chi-Chi's food were particularly high," Drake said.\nNonetheless, Drake said her personal experience with the Chi-Chi's restaurant was satisfying.\nDrake said she was not moved by Chi-Chi's closure since she felt there are several better Mexican dining places in Bloomington. Many IU students seconded her opinions, including sophomore Stephen Sundberg.\n"I don't care if it's closed or not. I don't normally eat there anyway," Sendburg said.\n-- Contact staff writer Sopaporn Saeung at ssaeung@indiana.edu
(09/23/04 4:33am)
Thai restaurants are neither new nor rare in the United States. There are more than 229 Thai restaurants located in Florida alone. But in Bloomington, where the Thai community comprises less than 100 people, it might come as a surprise that there are three Thai restaurants: Siam House, Esan Thai and Red Sea. Three Thai ladies, Wemonrat Pok, Ruangthong Schoonover and Kanokkan Kongcharoen, are behind the growing Thai scene in Bloomington. Though their paths were different, their common goal now is to serve authentic Thai food to a diverse community.