To all my valued Boston members,
I am really pleased and excited to announce the move of our flagship Boston center location to 2 Heritage Drive, Quincy, MA in November of 2021. This is an exciting time, and I can promise you that the new location will provide many benefits that you will find both appealing and advantageous. To name a few, the new space is a Class A building sporting a hip vibe which also offers free covered and uncovered parking, a shuttle to the subway, a coffee kiosk, a full- service café, an employee fitness center, and beautiful views of the Boston skyline. This location is only six miles from Boston and four train stops from South Station. In addition, we will be building a beautiful, spa-like center with a new modern concept that will reflect our move forward into the next Hair Club era.
I am a sentimental enough man to admit that this move is bittersweet for me. I opened Hair Club Boston (my first-born with fifteen more to follow) back in 1981 at our original location on Winter Street. The Boston center, both staff and clientele hold a very special place in my heart. Many of those on my staff and certainly many of you joined me at the beginning and have been alongside me throughout this magical journey these past forty years. We have been through many changes over the years and this last one has been the most challenging for us all. I eagerly anticipate the opportunities that this new center will offer as I have always striven to keep both myself and my company forward thinking and relevant.
I want you also to know that this decision was not made without careful consideration. In my ideal world we would have remained at 99 Summer Street but unfortunately this was not to be in the cards. In negotiation of a new lease, the proposed rent increase was tremendous, and this initial increase would also continue to multiply on an annual basis. That would force me to pass some of these costs on to you in the form of increased monthly program fees well above the modest amounts we have historically done. I will tell you that this goes against everything I believe in as a business owner. We did also research other properties downtown but buildings that met our standard had little interest in renting to a business that does the work that we do. Therefor we needed to look at other options.
Knowing that we might need to look outside of downtown Boston, we also performed geo-mapping and sent out a survey to you all to uncover current client residence logistics and location convenience. Based upon those results and feedback, we ultimately decided on the Quincy area as the best option for relocation. While I am not naïve enough to believe that this will be the ideal solution for all, I am hopeful that most members will appreciate the many benefits this new location and center has to offer.
So now we begin a new chapter! I look forward to stepping into our new home for the first time and hope to see you at the Grand Opening. Please click on the link below to see pictures of our new building and our vision of our new Greater Boston Area super center. There will also be posters lodged in all our local Massachusetts centers highlighting our newest addition. Thank you for your loyalty and patronage over these many years. I have never once taken that for granted and have always been exceedingly grateful.
Best Regards,
Steven Barth
President