Massage Bar Evolves 
Cary Cruea is a trailblazer. A decade ago, she implemented massage in airports, and was soon imitated by other companies. Now she's redesigned her company's brand image and is poised to expand into additional locations and offer expanded services. The company announced the changes in September.

Massage Bar's first location was in the Seattle Tacoma International Airport; in 1997 it expanded to Nashville. Its newest locations, a store and kiosk in New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, opened in August. According to Cruea, the company's president and founder, another kiosk will open in Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport in February.

One reason for the company's growth is increased air-traveler anxiety, Cruea said.

"Before [9-11], massage in an airport was just a darn good idea," she explained. "Think about every time you travel, you're on a completely different schedule, you get up at 5 a.m., you don't have breakfast, you're squashed on-board between two people. Physically, it's really, really stressful on your body.

"Now you toss in the emotional fear that accompanies travel since 9-11," she added.

Massage Bar's near-decade of airport experience has also helped the company grow, Cruea said.

"We're receiving a lot of recognition, and we have a lot of momentum in the airport industry now," she explained. "Especially with our new look, it's gaining a lot of attention."

That new look incorporates recycled materials and natural elements into the design - including bamboo and river rock accents; sound-absorbing, recycled-rubber-tire flooring; and nature murals suspended from the walls. The redesign does away with the original look - dark wood with brass and dark-green accents - in most of Massage Bar's locations. Cruea described the changes as "a facelift" for the company.

Massage Bar's signature services are the Single Shot (15-minute) and Double Shot (30-minute) seated massage sessions. But that's about to change, too.

The Newark locations offer the additional services of foot massage and heated neck wraps, and the storefront locations will offer wellness products for sale, such as massage lotions and oil, massage tools, body-care products and books. A Massage Bar brand of oils and lotions is also in the works.

Massage Bar has achieved between 15 and 25 percent growth each year, over the previous year, and has had gross sales of over $1 million each of the past four years, Cruea, a massage therapist, said. Yet, although she says the money is nice, it isn't what motivates her to offer massage to weary travelers.

"I didn't start this business to make a buck," she said. "I started it because I believe in massage."

More Table Talk                                               See January/February 2004 Issue