A new location for well-known Bremerton salon

With the soft songs sung by Aaron McFadden, champagne specials and silver and blue balloons, Isella Salon Spa began a new phase of business last Friday.

With the soft songs sung by Aaron McFadden, champagne specials and silver and blue balloons, Isella Salon Spa began a new phase of business last Friday.

“We’re very excited to be opening at this location,” said owner Christina Jara. “And it wouldn’t be happening without all of you.”

With her husband Carlos Jara, and their daughter, Isella, together the three cut a symbolic curl of blue ribbon with a giant pair of scissors, marking a grand re-opening of Isella Salon Spa at its new location.

The salon and spa which was founded in 2005, had been located in the Soriano Professional Building just across the street and to the east of where they are now located. In February, the Jaras purchased the 524/530 Fourth Street Building in downtown Bremerton from the Bremer Trust and have been renovating it for the salon and spa ever since.

According to Carlos Jara, at their previous location the business was located on two levels.

“We really wanted to find a place where we could have everything on one level,” he said. “We started looking for something about two years ago. Our goal was to stay downtown.”

They came across the 524 Fourth Street building.

“It has a gray facade and really just blended in,” he said. “It was almost hidden and nobody really paid any attention to it. But once we saw inside it, we knew it had potential.”

Carlos and Christina are no strangers to downtown Bremerton. Besides the salon and spa, they also own the Toro Lounge at 315 Pacific Ave. and the Harborside Market at 40 Washington Ave., near the ferry terminal. They’ve been a big part of the Downtown Bremerton Association and the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce since 2005. He is originally from Texas and she grew up in Ballard. They met in Seattle, were married and then moved to Bremerton in 2004.

The salon and spa boasts of having industry-leading products for skin care, hair care and massage therapy. Their goal is to give the “ultimate guest experience.”

“In the new location, we have an area for the salon, and a quiet, more private area for the spa,” Carlos said. “Where we were before, it wasn’t the most desirable set up. Here, we can have different music in each area, and we we can be loud and chatty upfront with the clients who are getting their hair done, while in the back it can be serene.

“It’s all about attention to detail and the guest experience, and great customer service.”

The new location is about 5,500 square feet and has six rooms in the spa area, for waxing, massage, and esthetic skin care. A room with relaxing music and dim lighting is available for clients who have a few minutes wait between spa treatments.

During the remodel, the rooms were given high quality insulation to keep each private. An accordion wall was added between the massage rooms to allow for couples massage.

They have nine employees and as many as 1,000 customers, Carlos said.

Prior to becoming an esthetician, Christina was a para-educator. Their daughter is 2 1/2 years old.

“Isella was the name we’d picked if we ever had a daughter,” said Carlos. “It just happened that the shop came first, so we used it then. And then we named our daughter Isella.”

It’s a family name that belonged to Christina’s mother, he added.

There is a second space still available in the building just next door. Carlos said he hopes to find a tenant that is in the health care or retail business.

“We want to keep the synergy going,” he said.

For more information, go to www.IsellaSalonSpa.com, or call 360-377-1113.

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: