If new business is good business, then business is going great at Hope’s Uptown Mall with the recent opening of Hanky’s Restaurant and Spa 6 Tanning & Wellness.
“The response has been good, really good,” said Brenda Brown, the owner of Spa 6.
And the owners of Hanky’s, Miri Park and Hank Lee, agree.
“Our first breakfast and lunch was so popular. It was a surprise, we didn’t expect that much,” said Lee.
“It was almost a full house on our first day,” added Park. “I often hear, ‘You have the best dessert,’ or ‘this is the best chicken (I’ve) ever had.'”
“This is the best place in town,” said Shelley Gordon, as she prepared for her red light therapy (RLT) session at Spa 6. A customer since since shortly after the light therapy centre opened in December 2018, Gordon says she swears RLT has improved her quality of life.
Once used to grow plants in outer space, RLT promotes wound healing and tissue repair, diminishes wrinkles and fine lines, as well as cellulite and stretch marks, says Brown’s daughter, Zoe, who also manages the spa.
“It helps with joint and muscle pain, as well as skin issues like psoriasis and eczema, and with sleep issues.”
Having fallen in love with Hope when they moved to the area three years ago, Zoe says she knew opening a family-run business in the Uptown Mall would not only be great for them, but also a great way to give back to the community they now consider home.
“We talked about it for a while beforehand,” said Brenda. The Browns wanted to provide a service to the community that was in need, and after travelling to Chilliwack for tanning herself, Brenda says they realized they weren’t the only ones having to spend money outside of the community to maintain self-care.
“It’s been going so well,” said Zoe. “We have plans to expand into massage and hair removal. We wanted to see what the town wanted, so we didn’t want to fill all our rooms right away, but (rather), branch out once we learn what our clients are looking for.”
It’s also all about what the public wants at Hanky’s Restaurant, which opened its doors earlier this month.
“It was a nice time to open a new (restaurant) because two just closed,” said Lee, who’s lived in Hope since 1995, and also owns the entire Uptown Mall property.
When the location’s previous restaurant closed at the end of last summer, Lee says friends began encouraging him to use the space to open another restaurant. Liking the idea, he brought the opportunity to his daughter-in-law, Park, who’d just finished her Master’s of Finance degree at Simon Fraser University.
“I’ve always been interested in starting up new, small businesses,” explained Park, who first ventured into entrepreneurship while still in university.
And while family isn’t part of its name, it is part of the Hanky’s experience: the staff are celebrated as equals, and customers are treated like old friends. “That’s my goal, I like the small town,” said Lee, smiling. “But I like watching Hope really growing lately.”
Dongoh Kwak is the head chef at Hanky’s, and moved to Hope from Edmonton for the position. Having embraced Hope, he says he’s putting his passions for his new community into his food.
“I want it to be more (than just food). I want it to be healthy, to be local, and to help build the community,” he said enthusiastically.
With that in mind, Kwak has ensured every item served to a customer has a homemade aspect. Even the ketchup is customized and all the sauces are homemade.
“Food, it’s like art,” said the chef with a wide grin.
Hanky’s Restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Spa 6 Tanning & Wellness is open Monday to Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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