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Soothing salon a haven for family, customers

Niki Nails in Spring Hill offers a comforting respite for customers - and a new life for a family from Vietnam.

By MARY SPICUZZA
Published July 17, 2005

	[Times photo: Keri Wiginton]
	Owner Sandy Hoang Tran, 54, paints a French manicure on Kelle Papa, 28. Papa, who gets her nails filled every two weeks, said she came in to get a pedicure and to relax in the massage chair.

SPRING HILL - Sandy Hoang Tran knows nails.

Pedicures. French manicures. Pink and white acrylics.

But Tran and her family, the owners of Niki Nails in the Coastal Way shopping center on Cortez Boulevard, do more than nails. Since 2003, they have been creating a quiet haven for Hernando County women - men, too - to take a break.

"You want to pamper, you come in and you relax," said Tran's daughter, Nga-Niki Nguyen. "It's easy. People can go to the plaza, go shopping and relax."

The salon, named after Tran's 31-year-old daughter Niki, offers plenty of pampering.

Customers can hang out and read the latest glossy magazines. They can soak their hands in warm bubbly water, waiting as their cuticles soften, and chat with Hoang Tran and her children - who make up most of the staff.

Or there are the pedicure massage chairs.

A row of soft leather chairs lines the back of the shop. Each chair offers countless massage options.

"The chairs, they massage so deep," Nga-Niki Nguyen said. "They can squeeze your butt, too."

Customers travel from as far away as St. Petersburg and Lakeland to be pampered at the small salon. But the majority of the Niki Nails regulars are New York natives who have settled in Spring Hill.

"I call it the Little Apple," Nga-Niki Nguyen said. "It's like a second New York here."

Tran has worked hard to create the relaxing spot. The long journey to the United States and Florida was not easy.

She was born in North Vietnam and immigrated to South Vietnam in 1954. During the Vietnam War, she met and fell in love with an American soldier. But he was sent back to the United States, and they lost contact.

She gave birth to their son, Tuan Tran-Jones, who is now 32.

She now has three other children: Justin Tuan Nguyen, Nga-Niki Nguyen and Bich-Thi Nguyen.

They all know how to do nails.

"It's our whole family," Nga-Niki Nguyen said, smiling. "It's in our blood."

The exception is "Grandma," Hoa Thi Tran. The 86-year-old matriarch can sometimes be found at the salon, but she usually just relaxes and drinks hot water or tea.

The family moved to the United States in September 1989 with the help of the Orderly Departure Program, a program designed to permit the immigration of Vietnamese refugees to the United States.

"We had only $20 in the pocket," Tuan Tran-Jones said, airbrushing white tips on a set of acrylic nails. "We sold everything. The house, everything."

They had stayed in the Philippines for about six months to learn English, then moved to Pittsburgh. Hoang Tran, who ran a grocery store in Vietnam, worked at a factory. But a friend told her she could make good money doing nails.

She opened her first salon in 1996, and at one time had three nail shops in Pittsburgh.

Her children learned how to do nails while in high school.

"We worked during high school; we worked like any kids," Tran-Jones said. "But instead of being hamburger helpers, we do nails."

September has been an important month for the family. It was September when they moved to the United States. They opened their first salon in September.

And it was Sept. 11, 2001, that brought the family to Spring Hill.

Tran was in St. Petersburg on vacation during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Her flight was canceled, and she ended up wandering around the city.

"She ran out of money and met an old friend she hadn't seen in 25 years," Tran-Jones said.

She moved to the area and started working in a factory. Then she convinced her children to move to Florida and started their Spring Hill salon.

For now, the family likes being together and has found comfort in Florida's heat and humidity.

"The weather, it's just like Vietnam," Bich-Thi Nguyen said.

Still, she hopes to use her University of Pittsburgh degrees in hospital administration and computer technology to work in a hospital, or get a master's degree in health care administration.

"Just temporarily, I'm helping out," Bich-Thi Nguyen said.

Despite her career ambitions, she said she's flexible with her future plans.

"I need a rich husband," she said as she carefully applied polish to a pedicure customer. "I don't need anything else, just a rich husband."

All of the surrounding customers giggled at her rich husband quest.

Some customers said it's the funny, relaxed atmosphere that keeps them going back to Niki Nails week after week. Between that and their skill with everything from nails to waxing, many can't stay away.

Brittany Baldwin, 15, said she stumbled upon the salon while at the shopping center and hasn't gone to another salon since her first visit.

"They do such a good job," Baldwin said. "They're very welcoming when you come in, and they always talk to you when they're doing your nails and toes.

Mary Spicuzza can be reached at mspicuzza@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.

[Last modified July 17, 2005, 01:06:14]