Nail Salon Owner Follows Family Tradition with New Shorewood Shop

Quan Vu drove past the vacant storefront at 2127 E. Capitol Dr. for months before he decided to inquire about the space.

And, after months of prep work and jumping through some large hoops, Vu’s dream of opening his own nail salon came to fruition with a grand cupcake party last month as Shorewood's newest nail salon and spa, Q-ticles, opened its doors.

“We had over 200 cupcakes and 90 to 100 people attend,” Vu said. “The first thing I heard people say was, ‘It’s clean and modern.’ There were a lot of women who came back after the cupcake party.”

Originally from California, nails are a family tradition for Vu. His mother and sister have operated nail establishments in Indiana and California, and growing up he learned a lot, so opening Q-ticles was a no-brainer.

“I have been in the industry my whole life,” Vu said. “I just know the ins and outs of the business, and Shorewood is a great place."

Business sets itself apart from others

The new addition to Shorewood’s wealth of hair and nail shops does pedicures, manicures, facials and waxing with a heavy focus on quality, experienced staff and sanitation.

“There are a lot of other salons that offer pedicures, manicures, but not at the level we do,” he said.

The salon's staff never use the same tool twice in one day, Vu said. 

“We have over 100 sets of tools," he said. "Other places make their technicians provide their own tools… and most only have one set of tools that they don’t sanitize after every customer. That's how you spread germs and create infections."

Q-ticles also features zero-gravity chairs at its pedicure stations, Vu boasted.

“A typical chair would just recline," he said. "The zero-gravity chair is actually a massage chair versus the regular spa chairs. A lot of chiropractors use them for people with back problems.”

The shop also features more than 100 nail polish colors and a full microdermabrasion machine, similar to what dermatologists use. Vu said he makes his own sea salt scrub from organic salt.

"Anything that sits on a shelf for a long time has preservatives and other sea salts have dye, and that's not good for your skin," he said.

A classic pedicure will run you $30, manicures are $15 and facials start at $80, Vu said.

Not exactly smooth sailing

Vu's new shop didn't open without some hiccups though, he said. It took nearly five months to get up and running as the space was severely outdated and violated some village codes.

He added a new Americans with Disabilities compliant bathroom, air-handling unit, floor tiles, drywall and had to do a complete electrical and plumbing overhaul, prior to opening.

“We had to do a little bit of everything," he said. “We got scammed by some contractors along the way. That didn’t really help out, either."

And, he said, an inspector with the village wasn’t clear and he received mixed information about what needed to be brought up to code initially, including whether the bathroom needed to be ADA compliant.

"That delayed everything,” Vu said.

Vu said he doesn't know how much he's invested into Q-ticles thus far, as he is still adding up all the receipts from the last five months of work.

Within the month, Q-ticles will organize a food drive and hopes to become a big part of the community.

“We want to help out the community, the schools,” he said.

In addition, Vu hopes to support young, local artists by placing their artwork on the salon walls and providing them a venue to sell their work.

With Shorewood's location finally open, Vu said he has set his sights on expanding soon to other locations in the Milwaukee metro area.