TUSTIN, Calif. — Christie Nguyen doesn’t need to open her mailbox to know what’s inside.
“This one is our rent bill,” said Christie Nguyen, co-owner of Studio 18 Nail Bar in Tustin.
Every month, Nguyen pays their business’ location’s landlord $4400 for rent. Nguyen and her brother opened the posh nail salon a few years ago as a present for their hardworking parents who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam.
“After being engineers for so long to just put my brother and me through school, this is all they’ve ever dreamt of,” said Nguyen.
Her parents dreamt of becoming entrepreneurs. “They want to give back to a country that gave them so much when they had nothing,” said Nguyen.
Now, the family is at risk of losing their American Dream. The Nguyen Family is at risk of losing their ‘American Dream.’ Nguyen said the family did some rough calculations and found that their business has only been open for about 15% of 2020. The back to back state-mandated shutdown brought on back the pandemic causes the nail and hair industry to lose out on the appointments that are usually made during the holiday season. People tend to flock to nail and hair salons during those months to look their best for holiday parties and family gatherings.
“Since March, we’ve lost a few hundred thousand dollars,” said Nguyen.
At the end of January, Governor Gavin Newsom gave the thumbs up to hair and nail salons across the state to reopen. As much as business owners are excited to reopen again, having to reopen brings on another set of challenges. Nguyen had to post open job positions in a local newspaper and has to interview and train new staff members. She’s doing all of this while she prepares for tax season.
“I was worried for tax season last year and this year it’s even more stressful. We are so behind on so many bills with and now with tax season coming up, I’m afraid to even go down that route,” said Nguyen. She said their family business has racked up more than $40,000 in debt and back rent. Fortunately, they applied and received help from the city of Tustin with a $10,000 check which they used to pay two months of rent.
Despite all of this, Nguyen said she and her brother will continue to carry the weight and shield their parents from all the stress.
“We’re just hoping and praying that this American Dream will eventually be something successful,” said Nguyen.
She said her family left war-torn Vietnam knowing that the road towards their American Dream wouldn’t be easy. They’re praying this pandemic is just one more hurdle they have to face. While the business was closed, Nguyen participated in a movement called Nailing It for Health Care Workers where she and other Vietnamese-American business owners donated PPE supplies and food to front-line employees.
Studio 18 Nail Bar is accepting appointments. For more information visit: https://www.studio18nailbar.com.