Lynn Vu says she feels lucky. She came to the United States from Vietnam seven years ago at the age of 19, worked in a nail salon, attended San Francisco City College, and raised her daughter, all while dreaming of opening her own place. That dream came true in December 2019, when she opened The Muse SF salon on Grove Street in Hayes Valley. Business was immediately good. Vu was elated.
Then the pandemic hit, and she had to shut down in mid-March, along with most other businesses in the city.
But she wasn’t ready to give up on her dream. When the salon was dark all those months and Vu couldn’t work, she says her young daughter “helped me with my mind.”
With help from her family and a friendly landlord, she managed to survive the five-and-a-half-month shutdown. Even through a false start, when it seemed the city would let her reopen earlier this summer, she stayed ready with a plan to get back to business.
When a change in rules allowed nail salons and other personal services to reopen outdoors on September 1, Vu didn’t waste time.
Her mom, her dad and her sister all work at the salon with her. Her husband has helped with salon layout and furniture to enable social distancing. But none of it would matter without customers. Since she reopened on the Grove Street sidewalk, “most of my clients who have been supporting me are locals,” she told The Frisc. “One of my customers came back and said, ‘No one’s touched my nails in six months!’”
On her fifth day back at work, Vu (whose first name is spelled Linh on official documents) took time just before opening to talk to The Frisc about her pandemic life, difficult decisions about investing in outdoor space, and more.
The conversation has been edited and condensed.
The Frisc: What was business like prior to the pandemic?
Lynn Vu: We opened in mid-December 2019. This business was my dream and it was also a way to support my family. My dad, my mom, and my sister all work here. We were able to stay open until March 15.
When we opened, all our money was going to bringing in new clients. My focus at that time was growth, not income. Then the pandemic came.
Our first three months were really busy. I felt very lucky; I thought, ‘Oh my goodness!’ We had a lot of fun here; we weren’t doing nails only. I think customer service is the most important part. We served champagne and tea and water. We would give clients a moment to relax with a hot towel.
What has reopening been like?
I had to learn how to do this and to make clients feel relaxed with the outdoors. Today, we have more staff coming back to work. But it’s going really well, honestly.
Right now, we can only do four clients at a time. Before each new client, we have to clean the station for 15 minutes. We also have to clean the break room and the restroom every two hours. Our pedicure bowls are portable now and always have a liner. Everything is contact-less. All of our furniture moves around. The staff has to have more energy to do all of this.
Are you considering expanding to the parking space?
We just got approved for a parklet yesterday. I’m so happy to be approved, but I also don’t know if we’ll use it. I have to decide next week. Before I spend the savings, I want to know that I can handle this month. And then who knows when the shutdown will end? How long will we be outdoors? I also have to consider that the more crowded it is, the more dangerous it is.
Has anything really surprised you as you’ve reopened?
I’ve just been open four days and all the gel polish has gone away! When it sees the sunlight, it sticks to the brush in a ball and the whole bottle gets sticky. I didn’t know about this before. Whenever we do a gel manicure, we have to move to the shade and work very fast. The technicians are saying it’s so much more work.
Was the city helpful?
Yes. The city helped me with the permit for outdoors. I didn’t know how to do the application [but] I went online and they were able to accommodate very fast. We needed to leave space between the stations for people to walk by. Our tent also needed to be above a certain height.
At one point in June, it looked like nail salons would be able to reopen indoors, but then that got pushed back. What was that experience like?
Before, we had sofa beds for manicures, but we could not social-distance that way. We tried to decorate inside. My husband put up barriers so people from one household could sit together and be separated from people from another household.
What did you do to prepare for being outdoors?
We had to purchase extra insurance for COVID. There is a lot of additional risk to cover. We spent two days preparing our furniture to be ready to go outside.
Everyone did online learning to get certification when we opened and got it again after COVID.
Right now, it’s hard. We’re learning how to accommodate for outdoors and make everyone feel relaxed during our services. We have three steps. First, we do a temperature check. We give the customer hand sanitizer. Then we have a questionnaire and consent form for COVID-19 online — they scan the QR code with their phone and fill it out there.
How did your business survive all those months when you couldn’t open?
When we opened, all our money was going to bringing in new clients. My focus at that time was growth, not income. Then the pandemic came. I think I already gave up in June. All my savings were gone.
Luckily, I got the EIDL (Economic Injury and Disaster Loan). And I thought, ‘Okay, I’m gonna try one more time. I don’t want to give up my dream.’ My landlord was also very good to me — he gave me a good discount. But every month, I had to pay the rent. I had to pay for advertisements and to stay in touch with clients.
Honestly, the rent here is very expensive.
I have heard people say for months that they can’t wait to get back to a nail salon. Have you had any particularly excited customers?
Yesterday! One of my clients came bauck in and said, “I want to try a deluxe manicure! No one’s touched my nails in six months!” As she got her service she was saying, “I’m being a woman right now!”