Family-owned and deeply rooted in the neighborhood, The Crown Spa Nails at 2653 Hennepin Ave. S. is the kind of small business that keeps Uptown going. Owner Tim Pham opened the shop in 2017 after years working at other local salons, and today it’s truly a family operation, with his wife, parents and a close family friend all working alongside him, and even grandparents pitching in with childcare so the business can run seven days a week. Supporting places like The Crown isn’t just about a service, it’s about sustaining the people and families who make this community what it is.
(Images: Molly Mogren Katt)
I gave up on DIY pedicures long ago. I’m the least careful person — don’t look too closely at the wood trim in the back hallway I painted — and never wait the full dry time. Plus, who couldn’t use 45 minutes to read a book while someone massages your feet?
Some nail salons just feel better than others. I’ve found myself wondering if that’s truly a bottle of OPI’s legendary “I’m Not Really a Waitress” red lacquer, or just a cheapie version poured into an old bottle. Are the tools sterilized? And if I’m told “it’ll just be 15 minutes — pick a color and take a seat,” does that actually mean it’ll be an hour?
I crossed the threshold of The Crown Spa Nails, 2653 Hennepin Ave. S., nearly 10 years ago and never looked back. Owner Tim Pham, 38, opened the jewel box salon located at 27th and Hennepin in 2017 after years working at other neighborhood nail spots.
The Crown is open seven days a week and employs Pham’s wife Kim, his mom and dad, and family friend Trang. His younger sister, Vi, worked on and off at the salon while attending pharmacy school. She’s now a pharmacist in Crystal. Pham’s grandparents, who live in St. Paul, often babysit his 3- and 7-year-old kids while everyone else works.
The Crown serves as the family’s financial linchpin — not too far off from their life in Vietnam, where Pham’s mother operated a spa. When the family immigrated to the United States in 2007, Pham, then in high school, never thought he’d end up doing nails. But it was work the family knew, and an easy access point to stability in a new country.
The eldest of three kids, Pham reluctantly started working alongside his parents in nail salons. “I hated doing nails, if you want to know the truth,” he told me during a recent appointment. “But I got really good at it. I love art and drawing, which I got to incorporate into my business.”
Pham is so good that clients travel into Uptown from the ’burbs for his designs. I’m talking glamorous acrylics bedazzled with rhinestones, coffin-shaped golden chrome talons, nails so long that a layperson like me wonders how people can do things like type and cook and, ahem, wipe.
I’d describe my personal nail preferences as basic — red or pink gel polish on the toes. The gel dries almost instantly under UV light and lasts two months — and a short and sensible dip manicure in something neutral, or maybe purple if I’m feeling saucy, that lasts around three to four weeks.
The salon itself is clean, simple and inviting, with a handful of manicure stations and pedicure massage chairs. Pham takes a huge amount of pride in using high-end products and doing a service right the first time.
Whereas most salons literally dip your nails into a pot of acrylic powder to create their dip manicures, Pham uses an overlay method that’s a bigger expense on his end but lasts significantly longer. His pricing is straightforward. Manicures are $40 for gel and $60 for dip. A full acrylic set starts at $125. Regular gel pedicures go for $55. A deluxe pedicure, which includes a foot soak in scented organic sea salts, scrub, mask, and deep tissue and hot stone massage — all with a glass of champagne — is $75. I’ve never been upsold or felt like they’ve rushed a service.
“ Most people wouldn’t take the time to apologize to their nail person for moving on. But they do to me, because I treat them like family.”
Despite his talent, Pham has noticed a significant downtick in clients. In 2020, with the impact of both the COVID pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, his business sustained serious damage from looters, who broke the windows and ripped shelves filled with polish off the walls. Next came two years of Hennepin Avenue construction.
When you’re visiting a business every two or three weeks, navigating a dusty and always-changing detour route grates on you. What’s more, when a city employee dropped off paperwork for relief funds for businesses affected by the construction, Pham submitted his forms and was told the money had already been allocated.
And then there’s the perception of Uptown as unsafe. Pham said he recently had a longtime client tell him she just didn’t feel safe driving into the city from Eden Prairie anymore. “I’ve had so many clients apologize for leaving,” he said. “Most people wouldn’t take the time to apologize to their nail person for moving on. But they do to me, because I treat them like family.”
I know that’s a thing business owners say, but as a client, I feel it. Pham knows it’s me when I call their landline. He claims to have a near-photographic memory and recognizes who’s calling based on the last four digits of the number. He asks about my kids. He knows I like my nails boring. In this social-media-heavy world where everything is about the next viral place, it feels good to be a regular somewhere.
I worry that the business, like so many others, won’t make it. Pham, who once dreamed of expanding, of hiring a receptionist and pulling in enough money to really support four generations, is barely scraping by. “I don’t even know who to ask for help,” he says. “I’ve aged so much in the last five years.” When I asked him about the latest round of financial relief from Hennepin County, he shrugged.
So I’m helping in the best way I can: by asking neighbors to get their nails done. Treat your favorite lady to a Mother’s Day pedicure. Do a self-care date night with your sweetie — champagne included! Meet a friend to catch up over manis. It might sound superficial, but nice nails put a smile on my face, even in times when there’s not much to smile about.
Molly Mogren Katt writes for the Hill & Lake Press and also publishes the “Hey Eleanor!” column on Substack. She lives in the Wedge.
