By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
The newest business in downtown Hays has now opened, bringing day spa services to downtown Hays from a historic location.
Owners Caroline Beilman and Vanessa Schumacher, see The Brickhouse Day Spa, 706 Main, as a welcome addition to downtown, bringing a variety of beauty and health services to downtown.
"I have worked on both the medical side and the day spa side," Beilman said. "I really wanted an environment where I could still pamper people, but give them the results I got working on the medical side."
The location currently offers facials, massage and skin care treatments provided by Beilman and a small staff that includes two licensed cosmologists and a massage therapist, along with nails, pedicures and lashes.
"I think that is a big part of it," Beilman said. "Having a really great staff. And we have a small staff, which is nice, too, because it makes the environment very relaxing.
"It's nice and relaxing in here, it's never really busy or crazy," she added. "And I think that is what people want in a spa environment."
They also provide hydrotherapy in the location, which she said compliments their other services.
"It really relaxes you," Beilman said. "It's not like being in a hot tub — it's more of a thermal message."
They also have steam showers on site.
"It's about bringing a quality spa to the Hays area," Schumacher said.
"A lot of places you go and get a facial or massage or whatever it might be, you have to add on the cupping, or the hot stones, or whatever it may be, you have to add all these things on," Beilman said. "Versus here ... anything they need that is going to benefit them so they walk out of here feeling better will be included in the treatment."
She said that customized treatment allows the clients to receive services that work for them.
"What works for Sally may not work for Sarah, because everyone's skin is different," Beilman said. "So that is why my major passion is skincare and skincare treatments. That is the driving force behind it."
She said with her own location she is not locked into a particular product, but rather can do a skin analysis and use their services to create positive outcomes.
"It's fun to go pamper yourself, but it's also nice to get results," Beilman said.
While the business was a longtime dream for the owners, it took the pandemic to make the spa reality.
"We kind of started joking about having this dream of opening something like this together," Schumacher said, while her and Beilman were stuck in a 14-day quarantine.
During that time, she asked Beilman about a downtown Hays building that she might be interested in if it were to happen.
She identified the Hill's building.
"So she went back to work, and I started making phone calls," Schumacher said.
Ultimately, she would connect with the owner and he agreed to sell the building, one of the few empty locations available in downtown.
"It's kind of funny to think about now, Schumacher said. "I can only imagine getting that phone call from me."
With a deed in hand and the realization that their dream could become a reality, they began working to revitalize the historic building, built in 1926.
"It was originally the first cash-and-carry grocery store when Hill built it," Schumacher said.
She said their research indicated it remained a grocery for around 20 years, before becoming home to several cafes, and ultimately a screen printing shop, which had closed in recent years.
"It took a lot of digging to find the historical information on it," Schumacher said.
During the remodel, the owners — along with their significant others — worked to create a modern space that would suit the needs of the business.
"They are truly the masterminds behind this," Schumacher said, "as well as our designer, Emily Knowles of Emily Knowles Design. She came up with the concept and made the space work for us."
During the early stages of the remodel, the interior brick stood out, so they pushed Knowles to incorporate it into the design.
It would also change the business identity.
"We had Emily redesign everything so we could keep the brick exposed, Schumacher said. "And we renamed ourselves because this wasn't the original name."
"We got everything we wanted and it all fits perfectly," Beilman said.
Being a part of the downtown community is also a part of the business identity, and Schumacher said the response so far has been amazing.
"Being on the Bricks, we are a part of this really cool community of business owners and everybody has been so kind and so nice," she said. "It was an outpouring of kindness and positivity."
The Brickhouse Day Spa is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more about the spa, visit their website brickhousedayspa.com
They also maintain a presence on social media including Facebook.
