Tom and Tammy Huynh have come a long way from having only $2,000 in their pockets to owning and operating two New Braunfels nail salons.
N.B. Nails, located at 280 N. Business 35, is their second location and is celebrating its grand opening through May 1.
But opening and operating a successful business wasn’t an easy road for the Huynhs.
Tom Huynh said he came with his parents to the United States from Vietnam when he was 6 years old.
“My parents came over a little bit after the Vietnam War,” he said. “Everyone there wanted to leave.”
Tammy Huynh came with her parents when she was 15 or 16 years old, he said.
“We first came to Greenville, S.C. I can’t remember when we moved to New Braunfels,” he said.
Huynh said his wife worked for a New Braunfels nail salon owned by Linda Nguyen, who wanted to sell it. He said he wanted to buy the salon but only could come up with $2000 and had no credit.
“Linda sold us the salon and let us make payments,” he said.
Huynh said he ultimately sold that salon three years ago and he and his wife began moving around looking for other locations to start a nail salon.
“We went to Chicago, Iowa, Missouri and Austin, but we came back to New Braunfels,” he said. “The customers here are very friendly. All of our employees say the customers here are nice and friendly.”
Huynh said he took a large role designing the shop that’s not only larger than his other salon, Nail and Spa, located on Loop 337 next to TJ’s Burgers, but greets customers with cool, tranquil shades of green.
“I drew up the plans and designed and decorated the shop myself,” he said.
The salon has 10 massage chairs where customers can relax and have a massage while their feet are being pampered with a pedicure.
Because New Braunfels doesn’t have a large Vietnamese community, Huynh said he finds his employees by putting advertisements in Vietnamese newspapers in Houston and Dallas.
“Many Vietnamese who come over aren’t educated and don’t speak much English,” he said. “Many were working in factory jobs or as waitresses. To them, this work is easy and they make good money.”
Most nail salons in New Braunfels are owned by Vietnamese people, he said.
“Model Nails, U.S. Nails, most of them are,” he said.
The salon’s nail technicians are licensed by the state of Texas, and Huynh said the beauty schools make it easier for the foreign students to learn.
