Category: Business

Lilliana Harrington is a huge fan of having her nails done by owner (and experienced nail technician) Lee Alley at Kay Nail Spa, located in the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel, across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, in the same plaza as Dickey’s BBQ. 

She’s such a fan, in fact, that even though Lilliana sold her home in Wesley Chapel and moved to outside of Orlando, she now travels more than two hours every three weeks to have her nails done by Lee. 

“When you find someone who is so extraordinary,” Lilliana says, “you can’t leave them.” 

Lilliana says she, her 19- and 11-year-old daughters and even her husband all go to Kay Nail Spa for pedicures and manicures, despite the drive. They discovered Lee at her first salon in Wesley Chapel — Colorful Nails in the Freedom Plaza on S.R. 54, which Lee and her husband Chris still own. 

The Alleys bought Kay Nail Spa just a few months ago, in November 2024. They also previously owned Lavender Nails at the Tampa Premium Outlets, but Lee made the decision to sell that salon when the opportunity presented itself. 

“[Lavender Nails] was very successful,” says Lee, “but someone offered us a good deal and I thought three salons was too much, so we let it go.” 

Lee says she loves the location at Kay Nail Spa, since it’s close to her home and even closer to her two-year-old’s day care. Lilliana says she’ll follow Lee anywhere, but she particularly likes Kay Nail Spa. 

“It’s a very clean place,” Lilliana says, noting that there are never any stray items on the floor and that it doesn’t have a strong chemical smell, as some nail salons do. “It’s very beautiful, very calming and very uplifting. All of her places are wonderful, but I fell in love with the chair at Kay.” 

And, while Lilliana has a strong loyalty and prefers that only Lee do her nails, she says that whenever she’s had her nails done by other technicians at Lee’s salons, she’s still always has been happy with both the quality of the work and the customer service she’s received. 

Lee says she worked at a salon when she first came to Wesley Chapel with her husband in 2019. She says she was often booked all day from people requesting appointments with her. She loved the work, and knew she wanted to go into business for herself. 

Now, she’s busy managing the day-to-day operations at both salons and Chris, who also works as an information technology (IT) professional, supports the salon with IT, paperwork, payroll, marketing and other administrative functions. Lee still makes time for her loyal clients as much as she can, but fully trusts her employees to care for those clients, too. 

She says the most important thing to everyone at Kay Nail Spa is providing not only good quality manicures and pedicures, but also excellent customer service. 

Growing up in Vietnam, Lee says her family owned a small nail salon, so she was always around it. She left her home country to work on a cruise ship, where she got a job as a casino dealer. 

Lee explains that, as an employee of a huge company that trains thousands of people in customer service, she learned a lot of lessons that she now applies to her nail salon businesses. 

For example, she says it’s important to always put relationships first. 

“We treat our customers like friends and family,” she says. “We have to make them feel welcome. If any issues happen, we try to understand them so that we can build a strong relationship.” 

Lee also says that, because of that mantra, clients often become friends, too. 

“I tell my employees that they can improve their skills over time, and if they mess up, their customers will give them a chance to fix it,” Lee says. “But, if they’re mean or rude, people won’t come back.” 

Lee says another thing she likes about her shop is that there are nail technicians of many nationalities. “We have Spanish, Asian and African technicians,” Lee says. “I don’t care where they come from if they do nails well and have a good attitude.” 

Lee says Kay Nail Spa offers all nail services such as acrylic, gel and dip powder. “If it’s available in the market,” she says, “we do it.” 

While Kay Nails was not previously known for offering nail art, now that Lee’s technicians are there, they are proud to offer those trendy and beautiful nail art designs, too. 

And, Lee says, customers can rest assured their nails will last. “We guarantee our nails for at least five days,” Lee says. “We fix anything for free within five days. After that, we are happy to take care of any issues that arise. But, if it’s not our mistake, we may charge a small fee to fix it.” 

Kay Nail Spa offers a number of discounts, including 5% for members of the military and seniors ages 65 and older. Lee says she’ll also take 10% off all services on your birthday. 

The spa also offers a loyalty card, where each service of $30 or more equals one point. Once you have 10 points, you’ll receive $10 off any service.

Kay Nail Spa is located at 2653 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite 104, in the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel plaza. It is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.,; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. To make an appointment, call (813) 527-6524 or visit KayNailSalon.com.