Some news on the Arlington personal care front: Origins Thai Spa, which currently has one location in Sterling, is coming to Clarendon.
The new 5,000-square-foot spa, which will be located at 925 N. Garfield Street, will join Sehkraft Beer Garden and House from the owners of Westover Beer Garden in the long-vacant retail space in the Garfield Park apartment building. Bethany Scanlon of JBGR Retail represented the landlord, Ironwood Realty Partners LLC, in the lease.
Origins Thai Spa specializes in Thai massage, a form of massage that leans heavily on strategic pressure as well as stretching various muscles of the body. The therapist positions clients’ bodies in several different positions while they wear loose-fitting garments. The massage is performed without oil or lotion.
The spa will also offer other forms of massage, as well as skincare such as facials and body treatments, according to the spa’s owner, Onuma Pruengkha. The Clarendon spa will be nearly double the size of Pruengkha’s existing location in Sterling, which has 15 treatment rooms.
Pruengkha is a native of Thailand and a massage therapist by training who worked in five-star hotels in Thailand before emigrating to the United States in 2006. After a couple of years working for spas in D.C., she decided to branch out on her own.
“When I came here, I couldn’t find a spa that was like a Thai spa,” she said. What makes a Thai spa distinct? Pruengkha has a hard time describing it. “You have to come see,” she added.
“I wanted to do it the way that I wanted to do it, to do it as well here as in my country,” she said. “That’s why I decided to open my own business.”
Pruengkha hopes to have the second location open by next spring, she said. As for future locations? She’s waiting to see how this one does. After all, the rent increase between Sterling and Clarendon is significant.
“Arlington is a big commitment, with very high rent and a lot of overhead,” she said. The buildout alone is expected to cost more than $400,000, with the majority of that being covered by the landlord. That said, she’s not ruling out future Origins locations.
“If we can get very good business, why not?” she said.
