Published: August 17, 2009 11:47 pm      

NEWFANE: Plaza owner is bringing a third business

NEWFANE — Blessings continue to mount at a plaza on South Main Street in Newfane.

Blessings Plaza, once known as Eighteenmile Creek Plaza, has already four tenants, Sunkiss’d Tanning, H&R Block, Tammy-Jo’s Cafe and Blessings Hair Salon. But plaza owner Lori Flynn will be bringing along another business when she opens Yesterday’s Blessings in October. Flynn, who also owns Sunkiss’d and Blessings Hair Salon, described the new business as sort of like an antique shop. Yesterday’s Blessings will be selling gently used and refurbished items.

“It’s always been a passion of mine,” Flynn said.

Flynn said she has plenty of stuff to unload in Yesterday’s Blessings. Some of the items include country style home decor as well as some folk art items. Flynn said an opening in October might be able to draw some of the Christmas shopping rush. When it does open, Yesterday’s Blessings will be open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

With 30 years of experience in hair care, Flynn opened Blessings Hair Salon in 2002. Since then, Flynn has been busy. The tanning salon opened in September 2007, replacing an old tanning salon that had been there for about 22 years. Then, about a year ago, Flynn bought the entire plaza.

“It’s our one-year anniversary,” Flynn said. “We’ve redone the storefronts. It’s a great opportunity for business.”

But with blessings sometimes come trials. Sunkiss’d Tanning Salon offers oval-shaped tanning beds which help give people a more complete tan. There are also spray tanning rooms, which provide a person with a tan that moisturizes the skin and protects it from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. But a recent report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer said people who use tanning beds increase their risk of developing cancer by 75 percent. That has caused some trouble for tanning salons, including Sunkiss’d. Flynn said it depends on what kind of bulbs are used in the beds.

“We use bronzing bulbs,” Flynn said. “Other bulbs are identical to sunlight. We don’t have those.”

Regular bulbs are hotter than bronzing bulbs. Some tanning salons have them, others don’t. Flynn said people can always call ahead and ask a particular salon what kind of bulbs they have in their beds.

A Newfane resident, Flynn spends a lot of time in the Blessings Plaza. The days may be long, but that’s what is needed, Flynn said. She compared her businesses to other local stores that do the same, such as Box Office Video in Newfane or Hedley’s Market in Olcott. Flynn said she spends most of her time working at Blessings Hair Salon but still knows what’s going on at Sunkiss’d and the plaza as a whole.

“My hand is in everything,” she said.

Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.