Hand & Stone Celebrates Grand Opening in Aberdeen

Ken Silbert smiled as he grabbed a pair of larger-than-life scissors that he ordered online from his bag. 

"I'm going to have to have [the blade] engraved with the date," he said to the small gathering of people at the grand opening of in Aberdeen on Wednesday.

For Ken and his brother Jeff Silbert, who co-own the spa, this is just one of many ribbon cuttings in the coming years. Hand & Stone is part of a massage and facial spa franchise with a focus on providing affordable services to the community, and the brothers are challenged with opening a total of ten spas. One already exists in Bergen County, and Aberdeen marks their second successful launch.

They lined up Wednesday morning infront of the Hand & Stone sign, and with one brother holding each end of a red ribbon, Mayor Fred Tagliarini snipped it with the scissors and officially declared the spa open for business.

The two come from complementary business backgrounds. Ken was a senior managing partner with Accenture and Jeff leads his own advisory firm helping ambitious business owners scale their companies.

When Ken began looking to what he wanted to do next, the brothers decided to combine their talents and do what they enjoy most - grow a business. 

"We wanted a retail concept that couldn't be outsourced; that's growing in popularity. [The spa is] a healthy concept; it's about 'me time,'" Jeff said.

Although they are going to be heading ten locations within the next couple years, the Aberdeen location isn't just a number. Jeff, who lives in Holmdel, is a regular at the .

"My local food store is the Stop & Shop in that shopping center," said Jeff.

Have you visited Hand & Stone?