As the name of the enterprise along Highway K suggests, it may be all about the luxury of a good massage but for Margo Allison, the people are a big part of the equation as well. That’s why she’s not just a co-owner. She’s on-site at the front desk.
“I actually go in and work shifts each week so I can make sure the customers are being taken care of and everything is running smoothly,” said Allison, 30.
Margo and her husband Stephen, 39, own MassageLuXe in O’Fallon. It’s one of six MassageLuXe locations in the St. Louis area with three more planned soon. The Allisons opened their site in December.
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“Basically, we do massages, facials and waxing services,” said Margo. “We offer affordable rates in a very nice spa atmosphere.”
According to the MassageLuxe website, the parent enterprise, launched in 2007 and now in three states, offers three standard massages: Swedish massage, a gentle rubdown; deep tissue, a deeper, more aggressive massage for underlying muscles; and prenatal, for expectant mothers. Six other specialty massages from hot stone to aromatherapy to bio-mat are also offered by the company.
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Margo said massages can have many benefits beyond simply loosening up the muscles.
“It can help with stress,” she said. “It depends on the person, what they are experiencing. We can customize massages that will work best for each individual.”
But MassageLuXe also deals in waxes and facials. Margo said the latter is a great way to promote a healthy dermal presentation.
“It’s going to keep your skin looking good and by doing it once a month, it will help maintain a nice appearance,” she said. “We’ve gotten a great response. Everybody can’t believe how affordable it is but yet they still have a five-star experience.”
Affordability is a key part of the MassageLuXe difference, Margo noted.
“If you go to another spa you might pay $100 for a massage or a facial,” she said. “We offer introductory rates at $38 for a massage and $48 for a facial.”
Margo worked at The Tan Company for more than six years and her husband owned several businesses. Between the two of them, the couple felt there were the makings of a great partnership.
“We felt that combining his experience and mine would be a good fit,” Margo said. “We also wanted to do something that would help people, something that even with a down economy would be affordable.”
So far, that plan has been working out. She notes that they’ve seen solid traffic, even in the wake of the worldwide economic turbulence. The monthly memberships have brought in about 800 members.
Not that it hasn’t been a lot of work, especially for Margo, who was pregnant at the time of the opening.
“For the first month, we were there 92-hours a week,” said Margo recalling that she went into labor after her shift. “That day I worked until 9 p.m. and went to the hospital at midnight.”
The future looks equally bright for the Allisons. Margo said they plan to eventually expand their operations, perhaps by one or two sites a year.
“Our plan is to open four or five locations that we own in St. Charles County and then we will franchise the rest,” she said. “We own a pretty big territory. We have the rights to Columbia, Jeff City, Rolla, Joplin and Springfield.”
Margo said she felt after examining the demographics and the potential competition, that the startup would do well in O’Fallon.
It also helped that Margo is herself a native of St. Charles County.
“It’s been an excellent location,” she said. “We’re very happy with the community.”
MassageLuXe is located at 2526 Highway K.