'Man-icurist' Hopes to Nail New Midtown Spots
by Dana Rubinstein
Greg Sarway, a born-and-bred Brooklynite and father of four who’s apparently quite confident in his manhood, opened Spiff for Men, a men’s-only salon in midtown, just 11 months ago. Now, Spiff is rolling out up to six new locations in the next 18 months.
The expansion comes during an exceedingly favorable market for retail tenants, as the dismal economy empties storefronts and drives landlords to gentler negotiations.
“In this kind of environment, everybody needs to look good,” Mr. Sarway said, as he sat near the entrance of his black-leather-and-steel-toned salon at the foot of SL Green’s 750 Third Avenue.
Mr. Sarway, 42, is pretty much the embodiment of well-manicured masculinity. His short nails shine. His heavy eyebrows form two almost perfect commas above his thick-lashed, dark chocolate eyes. His feet are swaddled in soft black leather, and a Rolex encircles his left wrist.
“Men are into pampering themselves today,” he said. His aim is to make them feel comfortable doing so.
Step one: no women allowed. Should they accidentally wander in, perhaps lured by stories of free Scotch and coffee, “we send them down the block,” Mr. Sarway said. After all, “a woman wouldn’t want to dye her hair in front of a man.”
Then there’s the décor, minimalist and discreet, with all sorts of contrivances to distract the manly man—flat-screen TVs embedded into mirrors that broadcast CNN/Money and ESPN. If the customer wants something a tad more escapist, there are Bond films on hand.
Mr. Sarway started Spiff after a 20-year career in the clothing business. “I would go to women’s places for manicures and pedicures and feel pretty uncomfortable,” he recalled. Hence, Spiff. Business, he said cautiously, is “growing.”
Men from Condé Nast offices upstairs, and from Rodale across the street, stop by to get spiffed up before dinner. The so-called “Spiff classic,” a package with haircut, manicure and shoeshine, is popular. So, too, are pedicures and waxing—eyebrows, back, ears and even the occasional bikini line.
Mr. Sarway plans to roll out his new spaces—between 1,200 and 2,000 square feet in size—in midtown east and west. Not downtown.
“We’ll see what happens on Wall Street,” he said.
Cory Zelnik, president of Zelnik & Company, is handling the expansion. “People tend to look at a man’s tie, at a man’s shoes to see if they shine, and they look at a man’s watch, and when they do that, they look at their hands,” said Mr. Zelnik, himself a frequent manicuree.
“I think Spiff is an excellent amenity for a building,” Mr. Zelnik said. “If we put more Spiff locations out there, it may afford more men the opportunity for a quick midday manicure. And while they may not admit to it, per se, they can get in and out and take care of it quickly.”
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This Just In: Health & Beauty Reviews
By Matt Dorville, EverydayHealth.com intern
Upscale men's salons and barbers are a popular trend in many urban areas, but most of them have a decidedly retro feel. They tend to look like the kind of place Mad Men's Don Draper would have had his hair Brill-creamed to perfection—wood-paneled rooms staffed by barbers wielding hot towels and straight razors. And while those places get the job done, they're not exactly welcoming.
But at Spiff, a new salon in New York City, men’s grooming has been taken up to the next level and into the twentieth century. The atmosphere is modern—strikingly modern in fact—complete with flat-screen televisions tuned to sports and stock reports. The barber chairs are ultra-sleek and comfy, proving the perfect seating to lounge away in. It's a classy environment, with top-notch service and an impressive selection of professional hair care products provided by Redken for Men.
The staff is not only knowledgeable and particularly well-skilled, but they give Spiff an especially friendly and relaxing vibe. They’ve also mastered the art of knowing who’s up for conversation and who would rather be left alone, so if you’re not a chatty person like me, you’re left to kick back and relax in relative anonymity.
I stopped by Spiff recently for a haircut, manicure, and facial (my first!). Kara, my esthetician, went to work on my neglected face. She pointed out a few dry spots and massaged in a hydrating lotion. Then she gave me pointers on how to maintain a clean and healthy look, explaining the benefits of SPF lotion and moisturizer. The facial was the highlight of my experience and Kara was, in short, incredible in her knowledge and demeanor. I left with a smooth, clean glow that I definitely want to keep up.
Next, I was off to Liz for a new hairstyle and Lyuba for a first manicure—also a first for me. Liz and I agreed on a short, floppy haircut with a full texture before she gave me a shampoo, scalp massage, and rinse. Watching the news while my cuticles were primed and hair tousled to perfection, I could definitely see the benefits of going to a salon on a regular basis.
In addition to their a la carte haircuts ($45), manicures ($18), pedicures ($40), and facials ($75), Spiff offers membership packages designed to help frequent visitors keep up their appearance and save a little money in the process: A six-month package of unlimited manicures, haircuts, and shoe shines is $425; a 12-month option for $750 is also available. That may sound expensive, but it is less than you’d pay for the individual services—and with the package, you won’t be tempted to let that haircut grow out or let your hands revert back to their natural, ungroomed state.
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Shorn Under a Good Sign
By MIKE ALBO
IF you pay attention as you rush through the streets, you will find constant inspiration in the hilariously ambitious, unintentionally poetic signage on the awnings and doors of small, scrappy businesses. Many of our city’s best signs come from nail or beauty salons. Diva Nails, Salon Mingle, Skillz, Confetti of Nail. Chinatown, near the Manhattan Bridge, has one of my favorites: Amy Artistic Hair, written in dingy pink. Simple, sweet, weird. I love it.
There seems to be at least one crazy-named nail and beauty salon on every block of Manhattan. They are always full of serious-looking women leafing through Allure, getting some minor maintenance work. Every now and then you see a man sitting in one of the padded lounge chairs trying to get a little touch-up to his hands or feet, feeling awkward because he’s getting a pedicure at some place called Lady Fingers.
A new grooming salon for men in Midtown has just opened with the dashing, approachable name of Spiff, written in silvery stainless steel letters. Along with shaves ($35 to $45) and haircuts ($45), guys can get mani-pedis ($58), highlights ($35 and up) or ear/nose/eyebrow waxing ($20 and up) — procedures they have always wanted but have had few places of their own to get them done until now.
The salon is well situated on Third Avenue, where a cross section of 9-to-5 guys work: swaggering bankers, obnoxious new-media types, stressy lawyers and fashiony fops from Condé Nast’s East Side offices.
The Spiff space used to be a bank, and the facade is lined with large windows. The interior is minimal and painted in a blue and putty-gray motif that resembles a JetBlue boarding gate. That pleasant blippy dance music you hear on reality makeover shows plays at low volume.
There is a long desk in front, where people can wait and check their laptops using the free Wi-Fi. There is a shoeshine area is next to it, and in back, there are eight barber chairs, two pedicure chairs and two adjoining treatment rooms for waxing.
Along the wall is a mirror with plasma screens embedded in it, so if you are an obnoxious new-media type, you can watch “Mad Money,” check your e-mail and get a shave while selling your Web site to Rupert Murdoch.
I went to Spiff last week for a manicure ($18) and a beard trim and clean up ($12). The trim was first. Seated in a comfortable chair, I met Danny Lee Kerr, master barber and managing partner of the salon. After a series of hot towels and oils to soften my whiskers, he got to work trimming my scruff with electric clippers, then shaving my neck and upper cheeks with slight, delicate strokes of a straight razor.
Mr. Kerr has a serene voice, a handsome face and a Zen-like calm, an important quality if someone is coming at your neck with a Sweeney Todd razor. He used a lot of hot towels and moisturizers, and he finished with a bracing cold towel and after-shave lotion. I was tempted to get a deluxe shave ($45), which ends with a face massage, but I didn’t because I still enjoy looking like a bearded backup dancer for Walt Whitman.
My manicurist was Daisy Aranda, who also does the waxing. She is originally from Peru and she is adorable. Wearing a dazzlingly gaudy jewel-studded watch, she pushed back my cuticles, clipped, shined, buffed and brightened my day with simple advice (“You live for the now! The past is dead, you don’t know the future!”) and exciting clairvoyant statements (“You need a new computer? You will have one soon. The best in the world.”).
Later on the phone, Greg Sarway, the owner, told me that since opening in April, roughly 20 percent of their business has been manicures and pedicures. And since Memorial Day, their waxing business has increased. “They must have gone to the beach and noticed their bodies,” he said.
But even if guys are starved for this kind of treatment, they don’t want it to take up too much time. “ ‘Can you get me out in 30 minutes?’ I hear that 10 times a day,” Mr. Sarway said. Spiff will arrange simultaneous treatments —a shave and a manicure with a manicurist on each hand — to speed things up.
I didn’t witness that when I was there, but I fantasize that all of the attendants rush out smiling, moving in unison and putting bows in your hair while singing “In the Merry Old Land of Oz!”
WHILE Ms. Aranda finished, a young guy in a shirt and tie sat down in the barber chair next to me and explained to Danny how he needed a basic short cut. He had a serious, tense face, but by the time he was getting his hair washed, he looked as if he was starring in one of those orgasmic Herbal Essences shampoo ads. That poor guy is underserved and needs this place so he can be professionally pampered.
Mr. Sarway says he came up with the name Spiff when he observed a beautiful blond woman in a bar telling some guy, “Well, you look spiffy.” It’s a good name, and the place will probably franchise all over the city, but I wish they would change their name to Manly Manicures or Tough as Nails or Fur Trim. We always need more goofy signs in the city.
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Shave the Males
It's time lose the beard and be a smooth operator.
It's no news that New York males have been sporting serious facial hair for the past few years. A ride on the L train casts one amid a sea of muttonchops, handlebars and full-on Grizzly Adams growth. But the tonsorial tide is changing, and it's time to trim that mangy mane. Besides, can you think of a better Father's Day male-bonding experience than side-by-side shaves? TONY road tested three of the city's newer grooming establishments.
Barely two months old, this sleek white-and-chrome men's salon is a far cry from the old-time barbershop that plucked grandpa's whiskers. Attentive and affable staffers escorted me to my chair, where an LCD television embedded above the mirror gave me something to focus on besides the sharp razor approaching my delicate visage. Although Spiff's clientele consists mostly of midtown businessmen, they're more than happy to walk whippersnappers through their first "real" shave. Manager-stylist Danny Kerr says he self-tested a variety of products before deciding to carry eShave exclusively. After a hot-towel treatment to soften my skin, he applied the company's lavender preshave oil and shaving cream and made quick work of the two-days' growth I walked in with. After three passes with the razor, my skin felt smoother than it has in ages, and Kerr made sure I wouldn't be irritated later by dabbing on an aftershave soother. I was glad I opted for the deluxe shave ($45)-the postshave facial and hot-oil scalp treatment were the finishing touches I didn't even know I needed.
-Dan Avery
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Sighting
PETER Cook getting a manicure at Spiff for Men on East 46th Street while talking on a cellphone about his messy divorce from Christie Brinkley...
DENNIS Miller with his two sons at Spiff for Men Salon on 46th Street, getting manicures and shaves while his wife waited patiently, reading The Post
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Daily Insights on Luxury Lifestyles
Spiff for Men is a service designed especially for busy professionals and caters to the midtown suit crowd. Instead of scheduling services one after another, they multitask and perform them all simultaneously to get you out of the seat quickly so you can continue on with your own schedule.
The salon has a great atmosphere. Flat screen TV’s are located throughout playing ESPN and other man-fare, and the friendly staff is quick to offer you a cappuccino. There is also wifi throughout so you’ll never be fully disconnected from the office (unless you choose to be).
Spiff offers traditional services like haircuts, straight edged shaves, shoe shines, and hot towel treatments, as well as more high-end treatments like manicures, pedicures, and waxing. The Spiff Classic is their specialty and includes haircut, manicure, shoeshine, a shampoo conditioning scalp massage, hot towels and neck shave. It lasts just 30 to 45 min and costs a mere $58.
For those who visit barbers or salons frequently, you may want to consider a membership. Six months costs $425 and a year is $750. The package includes an unlimited amount of the following services: Haircut/style, manicure, shoeshine, 10% of products, and complimentary services for associates.
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