Lawyer tries hand at art of massage

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Oct 08, 2004 by Majmudar, Nishad

SYRACUSE - The more Elizabeth Goldenberg described the exotic massage treatments available at SpaZend, a newly opened spa offering massages and body treatments from eastern Asia, the more her smile widened.

"This spa is very unusual for Syracuse," says Goldenberg, coowner of SpaZend. "We wanted to bring something new to the area." SpaZend is located at 719 E. Genesee St in the same building as the Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage, which Goldenberg and husband Van D'Elia also own and operate.

Adorned with imported Asian furniture and decorations like bamboo lamps and tea tables, SpaZend caters to a niche of customers interested in exotic body treatments like the Thai Poultice, a 14th century massage in which a hot cheese-cloth bag filled with spices is applied to relieve muscle tension, or the Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, a healing massage performed to the sounds of drum rhythms.

"We did a lot of investigation before we opened," says Goldenberg, a graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School and the Syracuse University College of Law. "I'm a lawyer. I didn't know a lot about massage." After working at the Seidenberg, Strunk and Goldenberg law practice and teaching law at Syracuse University, Goldenberg says she became interested in massage when D'Elia developed plans to start a massage school in Armory Square.

Goldenberg and D'Elia originally purchased the 1920's-era building on East Genesee Street last year as the new home for the massage school, which occupies 10,000 square feet on the third floor. Goldenberg did not wish to disclose the purchase price of the building.

The second floor was set aside as rental space for private practitioners such as chiropractors and therapists, says Suzanne Eckermann, the director of admissions at the Onondaga School of Therapeutic Massage. But the ground floor was still available for refurbishing.

"We had additional space, so we thought a nice jump off would be a massage center," Goldenberg says. Though a significant amount of renovation was conducted, such as altering the flooring with a dark brown wood to match the "Asian and tranquil" motifs of the spa, much of the building's original design and layout like the marble floor and some light fixtures, were kept intact, she says. The renovation cost a total of $250,000, Goldenberg says; some of that was put toward the Lucky Moon Cafe, a new eatery located in the same building that has also opened recently. She says most of the funds came from bank loans.

"When we bought the building, I thought, 'What a gorgeous building,' " Goldenberg says. "It was important that we didn't change a lot of the beauty of the building."

The 3,000-square-foot spa has six "treatment rooms" where customers can indulge in a massage as' short as a halfhour to as long as 100 minutes. The shorter massages cost about $40, while the longest massages are priced at $200.

"Statistics show women are usually 80 percent of the [massage] clientele," she says. "We actually have had more men than women."

The spa currently is open Wednesday through Saturday, but Goldenberg says she intends to have it open every day. For now, the spa offers appointments as well as walk-ins.

"We have had lunch-break people," she says.

The spa also earns additional profits by selling custompackaged creams and other skincare products from Asia. Goldenberg says she has no specific revenue projection for the spa's first year of business. The spa is also receiving some business from customers at the Lucky Moon Cafe, the new cafe that is across the vestibule from SpaZend. The cafe offers healthier food options, or "food and drink for the 21st century," the menu declares.

The restaurant was opened earlier this year by Roxanne Thomas and Deborah Sorrentino, who formerly owned the Salt City Caffeinery on East Water Street.

"We constantly focus on wellness," Thomas says. The cafe's trademarks are its vegetarian chili and "greens and beans," she says.

The new cafe has also served spa customers.

"One time we had a wedding party and the morning before the wedding, the groom came with the best men for the Lomi Lomi massage," Goldenberg says. "The bride also came with her friends and family, and while the men were in here the women were next door [at Lucky Moon] having tea."

But Goldenberg isn't ready to sit down for a massage as yet; she still has some plans in the works for some empty space in the building.

"I'd really like to have a Yoga center with some gym space," she says.