SPAce Spa and Salon

Profile

Spread out over two floors on a bustling street in downtown Astoria, this modish but minimalist spa and salon is a local favorite for massages and hair-coloring. It all started when owner Bob Sweeney saw the film Shampoo, which made hairstyling look like a cool life; Sweeney started taking classes and in 1975, he and his former wife opened a small salon. Hair sets were their thing, mostly because they had little room for much else, but business grew, the menu expanded, and twenty years later, SPAce opened. Clients visit the salon for manicures, pedicures, haircuts, and all kinds of coloring, from crazy to corrective. A candle-lit stairwell leads to the second-floor spa’s six private rooms, where dually licensed staffers do deep-tissue, hot- and cold-stone, aroma-infused, and 85-minute massages for individuals or couples, as well as enticing wraps and scrubs, waxing, and facials. Sweeney, a Queens native and former Vietnam medic, has come to value beauty as a way to bolster confidence and give back to those in need. As a result, he often donates proceeds to local charities, and uses all-natural, community-minded Aveda and Dermalogica products. — Christine Ajudua

First-time customers get discounts on a number of services, and an email quarterly details seasonal and holiday specials.