Montgomery Newspapers: Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa opens in Flourtown Shopping Center

Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa’s rapid expansion in the Greater Philadelphia market continued in July with the grand opening of Bruce and Lynne Dore’s new franchise location in Flourtown. The Dores first considered opening a Hand and Stone location in Flourtown three years ago, and though they decided on Huntingdon Valley for their first franchise location, they recently returned to open their second location at the Flourtown Shopping Center.

“From the first time Lynn and I went to that shopping center we just had a good feeling,” Bruce told the Montgomery Newspapers.

“We know a number of people that shop in that area and they all say the same thing: it’s a great area, you’re going to pull from a large range of people in that area, that Flourtown just has a community-type feeling and that people will embrace something like this,” he said.

The Dores came to the company after Bruce retired from a career at Merck in 2013.

“After I retired, I spent a lot of time doing nothing,” Bruce said. “I talked to a lot of, what I’ll say, older friends, people who are 10 to 30 years older than I was, and I got two big themes: stay physically active and stay mentally active.”

Bruce found that franchising would offer those options, and he and Lynne found Hand & Stone to be the perfect fit.

“We went up and down the East Coast looking at different Hand & Stones, talking to different owners, talking to the management team, and just really liked the organization,” Bruce said.

To Bruce, Hand & Stone’s model works by focusing on caring for the client. Having a membership-driven business is about earning back customers month to month, and that means making sure each experience meets their expectations.

“We’re trying to create the best hour of somebody’s day, week, month or years, depending on how frequently they come in,” Bruce said. “The vast majority of people that come out of the spa are in a great mood.”

Lynne Dore has also brought her education and background in fine arts into making the experience at their locations special. From stone features and marble counters to incorporating the favorite flowers of the women in her life as the photos adorning the walls, Lynne said she wanted to convey to customers and employees that the spa was special and more than simply a business.

“I love that people come in and expect to see something change after a series of treatments, and it does,” Lynne said.