NEW BRITAIN — Green Lotus Salon & Wellness, the new neighbor in town promising an ecoconscious approach to beauty treatments, held its ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, attended by family, friends, employees and city officials.
The salon and spa opened eight weeks ago at 55 Lexington St. inside a restored historic home, across from the New Britain Museum of American Art. The two-story building has been completely renovated to include four massage rooms on the second floor, while in the first one awaits the reception and the hair washing and drying stations.
Gosia and Bo Barczyk, co-owners and married couple, told the Herald why they decided to move from Cromwell, where they originally had their business for the past 17 years.
“We’re super excited. We really wanted to get into the city of New Britain, especially because moving out of a smaller town, we wanted to get into a bigger city with a little bit more of a community, with diversity,” Gosia said. “We have been really grateful with these guys, being able to have a conversation with them through the process of the buildout,” she said referring to the city officials.
Hunter Mathena, president of the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce, said the project took almost a year and a half to complete because of the building’s historic status.
“It was a very long process to restore a historic property. It took about a year and a half,” he said.
Mathena added every step had to be reviewed and approved by the Historic Commission, meaning waiting for monthly meetings, answering questions and facing delays.
Mayor Erin Stewart also noted the project was complicated due to the property’s historic nature, but praised the owners for completing a “beautiful job” that honored the building’s history.
“It was a complicated project. And just because of the historic nature of the property, they did an absolutely beautiful job. And we love to see that, honoring the history of the building and maintaining it too,” Stewart said. “We haven’t had a spa like this open up. What they’re bringing to the community is so important. Self-care, wellness. It’s not just a hair salon, but a spa for just general wellness.”
Gosia explained that most of the products they work with are 100% certified organic.
“Chemicals are not a thing in our world,” she said.
Stewart also praised the salon’s environmentally friendly approach. She said each business defines itself in its own way, and that Green Lotus has chosen to stand out with ecoconscious treatments.
“It’s great to have green modus here. I think we’re all more environmentally conscious nowadays and, hey, everybody does their part, so we’re happy to have them,” Stewart said.
She also noted the city supported the project with a $7,500 microgrant for the purchase of new salon chairs.
Bo Barczyk explained the business is built on inclusivity and wellness.
“While we’re an ecoconscious salon and spa, we’re very welcoming to everybody,” she said. “So no matter how anyone identifies, we open our doors to all to come. We’re cruelty-free, so nothing in our salon is tested on animals, and we never will be. And we’re really excited to be a part of New Britain’s citizens’ self-care story. So we’re excited to be here and looking forward to many, many, many years.”
Barczyk said the salon will host an open house on Saturday, October 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will include complimentary mini-massages, hair consultations, product samples and a raffle. She said they chose the date to align with other community events nearby, including a Polish American heritage celebration in the morning and an LGBTQ+ event in the afternoon, which will bring more visitors to the neighborhood.
“We thought it would be a great day because there would be a lot of similar traffic in the area,” Barczyk said.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was also memorable for co-owner Gosia Barczyk, who had her parents join in the celebration.
“I am very much impressed, believe me,” said her father, Janusz Barczyk. “We supported them very much before, when they first started business. We try our best.”
So far, Gosia said the move has been well received not only by new customers but also by loyal clients who have been with them for years.
“We brought in thousands of clients that we’ve had for years that, honestly, I can’t think of the one person that has not come with us. And being here, we’re already getting a lot of new faces” Gosia Barczyk said.
The salon offers organic facials and massages, Reiki sessions, hair cutting, natural hair coloring and more.
