Pulse June 2016 | Page 18

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CELADON DAY SPA

Finding a Niche in a Political

Metropolis BY ANDREW DEWSON

Sixteen years ago , the thought of an urban spa in downtown Washington D . C ., never mind a successful one , might have been considered little more than a flight of fancy . After all , as Celadon Day Spa owner Judith Koritsas recalled , the part of downtown where the day spa was eventually relocated wasn ’ t exactly as developed back then as it is today .

“ It wasn ’ t a particularly attractive part of the city then , and there was no real competition close by ,” Koritsas says , referring to the downtown business district of D . C . where Celadon Day Spa was later relocated . Despite this , Koritsas eventually opted to move across town and leave the residential and high-end retail neighborhood of Georgetown , for a developing downtown business district . It proved to be the right business move . “ I wanted to cater to professional men and women and fit into their busy work schedules , and it was a risk that luckily paid off . Now , 16 years later , there is huge growth in downtown D . C . and we are surrounded by high-end restaurants and stores .”
Aside from treatment rooms , Celadon Day Spa also has a seven-chair salon .
Early Challenges Koritsas admits that , at the time , she had no idea if the move would work , but says that , counterintuitively , it also made perfect sense : “ I started off in a more typical spa suburban location but found that most of our customers worked
16 PULSE ■ June 2016