Hand & Stone spa opens Wheaton location

WHEATON – A spa boasting convenience and affordability is now open in Danada Square.

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, which opened Monday, July 15, will provide massages and facials to Wheaton residents and add almost 20 jobs to the business community, with plans to eventually expand.

The new location is operated by Mike and Kathy Hendershott, a pair of Texans who have lived in Illinois for years. The couple began looking for a business "to retire to" and felt that a spa seemed like a natural fit.

"We had a consultant help us out and gave us five different types of businesses that could fit our personality and interests," Kathy said. "When I saw the spa category, I just stopped and said 'That's it! That's what I want to do.'"

Hand & Stone CEO Todd Leff said that his company tries to bring spa service to the middle and upper-middle class with reasonable pricing and convenience across its 110 locations.

"In the past, you had to know a massage therapist, and they came to your house or you went to theirs or you went to a third-rate location that was expensive," he said.

Hand & Stone, he said, has long hours to accommodate varying schedules, offers locations near residences instead of workplaces and has a membership program with large discounts for its monthly customers.

These features are part of the company vision that massage and its positive effects should be for everyone, Leff said.

Kathy said that she takes the wellness aspect of the spa seriously, and that the couple have plans to open two more spas in Geneva and Naperville. She said that their business will educate clients about the benefits of massage and skincare.

"I think that today there's a lot of stress and anxiety, and we offer health and wellness, and we feel like this is kind of a head-to-toe pampering," she said. "You can leave those cares and worries behind and help everybody relax in this fast-paced world."