Natalie Kadie worked her way through the University of Michigan Flint as a nail tech to become a hospital administrator and help people heal their wounds. A few years in corporate America convinced her she could do more healing with the bartenders, pharmacists and dancers with polish and a listening ear.

With 19 years as a nail tech, she and her husband opened Eight Ten Nail Bar in downtown Flint this spring to bring sophistication and pampering to the business and residential community near Second and Saginaw. She draws from a 20-mile range.

“I was visiting Detroit and stopped into this nail bar. This was a template for the kind of business my husband and I dreamed of owning,” she says, speaking of co-owner Alex Kadie.

They assembled sufficient capital from personal savings to open and staff the salon.

The move showed the kind of confidence that the two have in each other, growing demand for nail services and Flint’s future.

Patrons sit along a modern bench across a wall, custom designed by a Flint carpenter. Jets to soothe and pummel the toes before a pedicure are found in bowls adjacent to every work station.

“This becomes a gathering place for people celebrating birthdays, bachelorette parties or family reunions,” she says. “Men enjoy the treatments as well.”

Men represent 25 percent of her business because “they like to look good for the ladies.”

The ladies have moved away from a specific color palette, but chrome is moving into the favorite category. Customers are evenly split between traditional polish and gel finishes.

For parties Kadie will serve beverages and book food from Table and Tap next door and other local restaurants. The pampering awaits.

If you would like to book an appointment or apply to be Eight Ten Nail Bar’s next licensed nail technician you can call 810-422-9568 or you can visit in person at 555. S. Saginaw St. Suite 103.

For more information you can follow Eight Nail Bar on Facebook.

  Eight Ten Nail Bar, nail salons in Flint, new businesses in Flint, Table and Tap, University of Michigan-Flint

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