Loud, melodious songs nice respite from our quiet winters
WHITEHOUSE – Winter may be just around the corner, but that doesn’t make much difference to Carolina wrens.
Though they’re not common, this species is here to stay, probably not far from where they nested earlier in the year.
In warmer weather they love to gorge themselves on spiders and insects, but come winter they turn to fruits and berries, as well as visiting backyard feeding stations for peanuts and suet. Look for them, especially if we experience severe winter weather.
Carolinas are large by wren standards, and, in winter months when many birds go silent, they are a notable and welcome exception. If these chunky birds visit your feeders, you could very well have the silent winter landscape interrupted with welcome choruses of their loud and melodious song.
Joe Stokes, a physical therapist assistant, watches veteran Dave Russell Sr. do a leg exercise. Stokes has been at the clinic for 14 years. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Clinic offers medical, specialty services to veterans
TOLEDO – While Toledo-area veterans may know that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has an outpatient clinic in the city, it’s often a surprise as to how many veterans actually access primary medical and specialty services at the Detroit Ave. site.
A shovel used in the 2011 groundbreaking ceremony hangs on the wall at the Toledo VA Clinic. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Alex Herrick. (Courtesy Photo/VA Clinic)
The VA Toledo Community Based Outpatient Clinic is part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ann Arbor Health Care System, along with other facilities, such as the newly opened VVA outpatient clinic in Findlay.
About 5.5 percent of the population in Lucas County are veterans, according to the U.S. Census bureau, which is close to the state average of 6.5 percent and national average of 6.2 percent. Of that population in Lucas County, about 10 percent are female and 90 percent male.
That said, Herrick explained the client reach extends well past the Toledo metro area, with eight counties in northwest Ohio and two counties in southeast Michigan. Now that the Findlay site is open, some of those veterans are starting to schedule medical appointments closer to their homes.
Despite the client base and facility size, services are intentionally designed to be personal and attentive.
Chris Arbino. (Courtesy Photo/VA Clinic)
“I’ve spoken with veterans who are pleased with how they are treated here. I hear far more positive interactions than negative,” said Chris Arbino, public affairs specialist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor Health Care System.
Toledo has had a VA clinic for decades, originally on Glendale Ave., Herrick said. The current facility opened in 2012 and has 66,000 square feet of space.
Even that’s not enough to handle current and expected needs, as a building expansion and staffing increase is planned for fiscal year 2026.
During federal fiscal year 2024, which ended Sept. 30, Herrick said the Toledo clinic served 16,500 patients, of which 13,500 sought primary care services and the others seeking specialty care, such as oral surgery, mental health and vision appointments that can be done on site.
“We just started a full-time acupuncturist,” Herrick added. “The veterans are loving that. It’s used for a multitude of things – pain, relaxation, for smoking cessation.”
Acupuncturist Michael Fiorani shows the needles he uses for his ‘gentle style’ of needling. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Michael Fiorani, a fully accredited acupuncturist, has been the acupuncturist at the VA clinic since the acupuncture clinic opened in January. He concurred that acupuncture is beneficial on many levels, “but I would say the biggest benefit is pain management. It really has so many different positive effects: pain management, mental health, PTSD, anxiety and depression.
“From a pain management perspective, it really helps reduce inflammation, improves blood circulation, relaxes the nervous system, and has an impact on the entire body, really. We have quite a few happy veterans,” he added.
One of those happy patients is Lisa Heard, who has been receiving acupuncture therapy for depression, anxiety and addiction since February. She described the treatments as “a unique feeling at first because I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s not painful; it was more of a relaxation for me.
“I did the five point dry needling sessions for depression, anxiety and addiction. It was very relaxing; I would actually fall asleep during the treatments,” she said.
Heard added that after two or three sessions she could feel a difference in her urges. “I’m more relaxed and just more level, so it’s a great experience.”
Another new specialty that is getting attention was authorized through the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022. This bill expanded VA health care and benefits to veterans who were exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange or toxic substances during their service time. Health services related to this specific need were introduced to the Toledo clinic in 2023.
“That was a key piece of legislation that’s going to drive enrollment,” Arbino said about PACT Act.
Herrick said each veteran who seeks primary care there is assigned to one of 14 medical teams who then work with that specific caseload. With focused attention, he said it’s easier to make sure a patient is able to follow up on appointments, testing and recommended care.
“It’s a different system than you normally see in the private sector,” Herrick said about the team-based assignments.
Should a local veteran need specialty care available at the Ann Arbor facility, but not have transportation, a shuttle bus is provided between Toledo and Ann Arbor.
Secure firearm storage devices are offered for free at the entrance of the VA Clinic. The devices are meant to help make the veterans feel safer. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Whether a particular individual or a spouse is eligible for VA medical services, or what copays may be involved, depends on the terms of the discharge. “It’s really based off your veterans benefit. Most veterans that served and have other than dishonorable discharge are eligible for VA care,” Arbino said.
“For the most part, you don’t have to have a service-related disability to be here,” Herrick added.
Beyond the medical care provided to veterans, there is a distinct personality at the Toledo VA clinic. Across the VA medical system, Arbino said, about 30 percent of the staff have themselves served in the military. Many of the volunteers, such as some of the greeters at Toledo VA clinic, have served as well.
And there are special events held throughout the year: A Vietnam veterans recognition event takes place every March; and each spring Toledo’s VA2K event invites the community to a classic car show, a mile run and related events.
“We’ve got a lot of camaraderie in this facility,” Herrick said.
While the VA care is separate from that provided by local civilian medical entities, such as ProMedica and University of Toledo, Herrick said there is cooperation among them, such as the UT Medical Center sending some of its residents to the Toledo VA clinic for training. And since the Toledo VA clinic is outpatient only, the staff does make referrals to the local hospitals when admissions are necessary.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead: the Department of Veterans Affairs has requested a 9.8 percent increase in its budget for Fiscal Year 2025, with the intent to provide money for health care, benefits and national cemeteries for veterans. The fiscal year began Oct. 1, but Congress passed only a short-term budget deal this fall and will need to address the rest of the year before current spending authorization ends Dec. 20.
“Regardless of the budget, we still provide direct care,” Herrick said.
Salute to Military History
If you happen to have an appointment or are accompanying a veteran to his or her appointment at the VA Toledo Community Based Outpatient Clinic, be sure to take some time to visit the military history displays that are on site.
The outdoor flagpole area is within a small park setting. Seating benches adorned with military service branch emblems are accompanied by a Blue Star Memorial historical marker through a program hosted by National Garden Clubs Inc. and its local affiliate, the Anthony Wayne Garden Club. The Blue Star tradition in the United States originated during World War I and remains popular today, with a Blue Star flag indicating a family member is serving in the military.
The interior of the Toledo VA Clinic’s main hub. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
The Faces of Heroes wall on the second floor of the Toledo VA Clinic. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
The atrium above the patient lobby features a number of military artifacts and photos.
“It’s fun to see the history up here,” Herrick said.
The honor wall includes presentations about Lt. Robert Montgomery Craig, who is the namesake of Toledo’s Craig Memorial Bridge, and Civil War veteran Wilson W. Brown of Ohio, whose story inspired the 1956 movie The Great Locomotive Chase.
A flag flown during the 2004 dedication of the National Park Service’s World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. is preserved in a trifold case.
And one of the most popular areas of the atrium is the Faces of Heroes photo gallery. This wall features several collage panels of military service photos that were submitted by local veterans and their families. A binder is on a shelf near that display, with printouts listing the names of those who are pictured.
OHIO – State Sen. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood and other Democrats in the Ohio Senate gave a forceful defense of their party’s stance on transgender rights this week after majority Republicans approved a bathroom bill for state schools and universities.
The bill would require K-12 schools and colleges to designate bathrooms and locker rooms for single-sex use based on students’ sex assigned at birth. The bill passed 23-7, with all Republicans voting “yes” and Democrats voting “no.” It now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine, who soon will decide whether or not to sign it into law.
The vote offered an early example in Ohio of how Democrats may approach LGBTQ issues following the Nov. 5 election. Before the election, Republicans hammered Sen. Sherrod Brown and other vulnerable Democrats on transgender issues.
Since then, some Democrats have suggested backing off of defending transgender rights to try to broaden the party’s appeal, particularly among minority and working-class voters who tend to be more socially conservative. Polling commissioned by Ideastream Public Media, WKYC and Signal Ohio found a majority of Northeast Ohio voters surveyed, including a significant number of Democrats, support the Republican position. LGBTQ advocates have said transgender-related issues are misunderstood by the public unless they have a personal connection.
But Antonio, who in 2010 became the first openly gay person elected to the state legislature, said Senate Democrats didn’t privately debate the bill’s political merits ahead of the vote. Rather, their discussion focused on how they viewed it as morally wrong.
We’re not going to kick transgender people to the curb and say ‘You’re just dragging us down.’
State Sen. Nickie Antonio
During the debate on the floor of the Ohio Senate on Thursday before the vote on the transgender bathroom bill, Republican senators said the election results reinforce that public opinion is on their side.
“Ohioans and Americans … don’t want boys in girls’ sports, they don’t want boys in girls’ locker rooms. They don’t want girls in boys’ bathrooms. It’s for the safety of the kids. And this message was sent loud and clear last week during the national election,” said state Sen. Kristina Roegner, a Hudson Republican.
But Democrats said they view the matter as a civil rights issue.
Antonio said she’s previously resisted private calls to remove the “T” from an LGBTQ nondiscrimination bill that a coalition of gay-rights groups and businesses have tried to pass unsuccessfully for years.
“There has been an effort to segment them off because they are the most marginalized, the most vulnerable, the most misunderstood,” Antonio said of transgender people. “That doesn’t mean we should do it. That means a lot more work has to happen for people to understand rather than malign them.”
Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety.
TOLEDO – When President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) into law on March 11, 2021, it provided financial aid to Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Economic Development Administration was given $3 billion in funds to distribute to American communities.
Once the money was in the hands of the cities, it was up to them to distribute the funding throughout their communities. Toledo was one of the cities who participated in that equity spending.
Among the key uses of ARPA’s money was the abolishment of $72 million in medical debt for 43,000 Toledo residents, $230 million for 113,000 Lucas County residents, and the metropolitan region served by Toledo’s hospitals.
Michele Grim, a former Toledo City councilwoman, led the effort to allocate ARPA funds to medical debt before becoming a member of the state House of Representatives in 2023.
Michele Grim (Courtesy Photo/Tori Jester)
In a Sept. 24 news story, Grim said: “While serving on Toledo City Council as an at-large member, I was immensely proud to lead the charge on abolishing $230 million in medical debt for more 100,000 people in northwest Ohio.
“This project, among many other ARPA funded services, has now been identified as some of the most successful equitable efforts in the nation. I am encouraged to continue these efforts at the state level and deliver real solutions for Ohioans.
“Medical debt is the number one reason people go into bankruptcy, even though people may have health insurance,” Grim added. “Health insurance still does not cover everything. Some people have high premiums, that kind of thing. You don’t plan on getting sick; you don’t plan on breaking a leg.
“We’re the only industrialized country that lets people go into debt for medical bills, and it’s important for people to support medical debt relief because it does help people go back to the doctor and it relieves those costs.”
Sarah Treuhaft. (Courtesy Photo/Felix Uribe)
A new multiyear study conducted by the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School in New York City identified Toledo as a leader in investing federal funds from the ARPA. Toledo scored in the top third of 170 U.S. cities and counties evaluated by the institute’s Budget Equity Project, which examined how local governments across the U.S. are investing flexible recovery funds from ARPA to support racial and economic equity in their communities.
Sarah Treuhaft, senior director of policy and partnerships at the Institute, co-authored the report. She explained what The New School was looking for when it conducted the survey and realized the ARPA money was in the hands of mayors and council members to be distributed at their discretion.
“We wanted to follow the money, and realized that cities and counties used the funds to support those who were most impacted by the pandemic and inequities that preceded the pandemic and was exacerbated by it,” she said.
Treuhaft said Toledo performed well, and that the money was used for its intended purpose. By June of 2023, 20 of the city’s 27 approved projects would promote equity. Projects included lead pipe removal, roof repair and the elimination of medical debt.
The Institute's report found that $32,578,700 (47%) of the $69,301,460 funds budgeted as of July 2023 were equity-focused.
TOLEDO – If readers only hear that widening West Toledo’s I-475 up to eight lanes, now at costs of $217.5 million through the densest residential neighborhoods on the entire metro-beltway, will “eliminate congestion and improve safety,” they need to hear the devilish truth in the details.
Beyond those two microcosmic concepts — false as they are — consider far greater array of problems inherent to all highways, and this one in particular.
It’s only a phenomenon (noun: situation with questionable explanations) to traffic engineers: Why does highway expansion consistently increase congestion—not reduce it? Answer: It is known as “induced demand” which induces the congestion itself.
Google the 26-lane-wide atrocity known as Texas’s Katy Freeway with bumper-to-bumper snarl. One astute Texan’s protest sign reads, “Just one more lane, bro?” for another atrocity planned for Austin, an expansion from 12 to 20 lanes in one punch.
Patrick McColley, ODOT District 2 deputy director, changes places at the table with Peggy Daly-Masternak, coordinator for the I-475 Neighborhoods Coalition. McColley and Daly-Masternak were the only presenters invited to give their presentations at the table, located in front of the government officials. The rest of the presenters, both for and against the expansion, stood behind the podium during a public hearing at One Government Center on Monday. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Peggy Daly-Masternak delivers her dissent against the expansion. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
When people embrace a false perception that commute times decrease by expanding highways, often they then choose to move even further from the city, past the sprawling suburbs. This doesn’t take any vehicles off the road, where a robust and efficient public transit system would do so. Visit cities that have exceptional public transit with standing room only while private vehicles stay put at home.
Conversely, with its $11.5 billion current biennial budget, ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) dedicates an anemic 1.1 percent to public transit and 0.3 percent to rail. If there were any truth in their mission, the “T” in “Transportation” should be reverted to the former name: Ohio Highways Department.
THE CONGESTION TRUTH
The I-475 “congestion” truth, which ODOT won’t tell you is derived from their own freight mobility data reported to the Federal Highway Administration, is that the average delay time for “bottlenecks” is calculated at about one minute in either direction. Compare that to the Cross Bronx Expressway, ranked number one, where average delay tops 47 minutes.
Peggy Daly-Masternak, coordinator for the I-475 Neighborhoods Coalition, delivers a presentation Powerpoint against the expansion. Sitting in the front seats with the audience are the ODOT and Mannik Smith Group officials, who are proposing for the expansion. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
If you tap your brakes in a typical early morning or late afternoon trip on I-475, that’s called “Rush Hour in America” — the same experience during those hours in any city.
What could justify continued expansion to area highways? Sharp population declines are projected for Lucas County of up to 20 percent by 2050. Who is factoring prohibitive costs of owning and maintaining an automobile—especially for young adults who can ill-afford much of what was once called “the American Dream?”
Listen closely when ODOT sounds the safety alarm. “There have been two fatalities and four serious injuries in our study period.” Do you hear any context, reporting that neither fatality was wearing a seatbelt? Or any vehicle speeds? The inexperienced age of young drivers? Did the crashes involve a motorcycle or impaired drivers? In fact, these are the unreported contexts for their crashes. Expanded lanes prevent none of these.
ODOT’s consulting engineers ran detailed safety analytics on each studied alternative of wide, wider, widest. (Of course, ODOT picked widest.) Consultant analytics showed only fender-benders may decrease. Fatalities and serious injuries increased by up to 29 percent in any scenario. Aren’t people more important than property?
Is there any balance for the highway expansion champions — and we have local lobbyists fulfilling that role—in the serious harms caused to nearby residents? Not hardly, so allow me to lobby for the residents.
HEALTH FACTORS
The particulate matter and extreme noise from highways increase rates of childhood asthma, cardio-vascular disease, dementia, premature death, and hearing loss, according to the American Lung Association and American Audiological Society.
A San Diego study from Collateral Analytics showed that property values decrease in a range of loss from 38 percent to 57 percent when decibels increase to 85dB.
For the existing I-475, decibel measurements performed by nearby neighbors using CDC-approved apps consistently returned measurements over 90dB after multiple 15-minute readings. One person’s property registered peaks of 102dB inside her home.
Doubting readers should travel to and walk along residential streets like Devon Hill or Springbrook, both in neighborhoods adjacent to the existing expressway, both with useless “noise walls” already. Hear the relentless noise residents deal with every minute of every day. Expansion will move the expressway closer to all residents by up to double in width.
A typical insult lobbed at residents is, “Well, you shouldn’t have bought the home in the first place. Why don’t you just move?”
This callous assertion ignores what a person may have found affordable at the time of purchase or in the current market. Wouldn’t you object when something —anything—expands into your neighborhood with no regard for your health or economic well-being?
YOUR TAX DOLLARS
If further assault on neighborhoods doesn’t move readers to object, perhaps they’ll find fault in the way ODOT spends tax dollars. This project’s construction contracts are padded by 61 percent in a combination of “contingencies” and “escalation factors.” Conversely, both private and other public sector capital contracts typically add 5 percent for contingencies.
Do readers know that taxpayers are gifting a $12.4 million replacement single-track rail bridge across the highway to the Norfolk Southern Railroad, a bridge generally used twice per month? Do they remember what this private corporation did to East Palestine, Ohio, not two years ago?
Peggy Daly-Masternak watches a Powerpoint on the expansion shown by Patrick McColley, ODOT District 2 deputy director. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Toledo council member Nick Komives and Lucas County commissioner Lisa Sobecki confer during a first-ever joint public hearing. The meeting included community members who opposed the widening of the expressway, and ODOT executives who said the expansion would be necessary to improve safety and limit congestion. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
Is ODOT reporting tax dollars, which were invested in rehabbing many bridges spanning the highway — some as recently as 2020, with several complete rebuilds in the last six to eight years? Taxpayers’ costs in ODOT’s abbreviated accounting were at least $10.8 million, where every reported bridge construction was over budget by up to 82 percent in that incomplete accounting to our coalition.
When ODOT knew the planned expansion, they spent and spent on those bridges. Destroying the ones which ODOT did reveal, and now rebuilding expanded ones, will cost at least $40 million using 2023 cost projections.
Be assured: There are far more truly devilish details to this unnecessary, harmful, expensive ODOT project.
Demand better for Toledo. Rather than swallow ODOT’s claims, examine what other cities are demanding and achieving instead of endless highway expansion. Those achievements are through the combined efforts by local elected leaders and citizens, both being actively equal to the table to make those cities thrive.
Community members applaud Peggy Daly-Masternak, coordinator for the I-475 Neighborhoods Coalition, as she delivers a scathing rebuke to ODOT’s decision to propose an expansion of west I-475. (TFP Photo/Lori King)
The University of Toledo began offering free period products in all academic buildings on the Main and Health Science campuses last spring. Instrumental in the program (from left) are Abbie Ragan, student government senator and director of Period Equity; Addie Reed, student government senator; Dr. Sammy Spann, vice president of Student Affairs and dean of students; Dr. Julie Fischer-Kinney, executive director of Student Experience; Danielle Lutman, associate director of the Eberly Center; and Ryan Gibson, student government senator. (Courtesy Photo/The University of Toledo)
Toledo City Council funds program for free menstrual products
TOLEDO – Free period care products are coming soon to public restrooms in municipality-owned buildings in Toledo, the latest step forward in a growing “period equity” movement.
In October, Toledo City Council voted to allocate $50,000 toward a pilot program to install dispensers with free menstrual products in more than 100 high-traffic bathrooms.
“We kind of wanted to start strategically with the high volume bathrooms, and then just see how well it goes,” says Toledo City Council president Carrie Hartman, who proposed the initiative with council members Nick Komives and Brittany Jones.
“They’ll be at parks; they’ll be at community centers. One of the first places I wanted to put them in was the Safety Building and Toledo Municipal Court because those get a lot of volume,” she said. “There are also women who work in those buildings, too, so this is not just for the public; it’s for our employees, as well.”
Toledo City Council president Carrie Hartman says there was little opposition to the proposal to allocate funding to provide free menstrual products in municipally-owned buildings in Toledo. (TFP Photo/Laurie Bertke)
Hartman says the proposal was inspired by research compiled by Solace Health and Wellness, a Toledo community organization that provides education, advocacy and outreach to promote sexual and reproductive health.
A 2024 survey by U by Kotex found that two in five people who need period supplies have struggled to buy them, and that a third of girls and women who menstruate had to miss school, work or a similar activity in the previous year because they did not have the products to manage their periods.
The Alliance for Period Supplies reports that one in six girls and women between the ages of 12 and 44 lives below the federal poverty line.
Katie Garber, who serves in a volunteer capacity as director of Menstrual Justice Programming for Solace, notes that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) do not cover menstrual products. “There’s no government program that provides hygiene supplies, including menstrual hygiene,” said Garber.
Lack of access to these products leads to challenges with participation in work, school and community life. “It can lead people to use unsanitary items, which can cause a lot of health problems and infections,” Garber added.
In 2020, Garber began collecting donations of period products on her own to donate to homeless shelters and other organizations. Since she began working through Solace, this initiative has grown to involve businesses and organizations that host collection drives and period packing parties to create kits for community members in need.
“What we believe is menstrual hygiene is a human right. The main goal is just getting products to people who need them,” said Garber. “We’re trying to end the stigma around period products and menstruating.”
Hartman says the city already stocks its bathrooms with toilet paper, towels and, in some case, toilet seat covers. “Why not just go a step further and supply them with menstrual products, too?”
Toledo is not the first city to address the issue of period equity. Hartman cites Columbus and Cleveland as cities that have passed similar legislation. In 2022, Ann Arbor enacted the country’s first law requiring menstrual products in all public restrooms.
Schools, colleges and universities are also supporting the movement. Ohio passed a law in October 2023 requiring all schools with girls in grade six to 12 to provide free menstrual products.
Last spring, The University of Toledo began offering free period products in all academic buildings on the Main and Health Science campuses through an initiative spearheaded by the student government and UToledo’s Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women.
Danielle Lutman, associate director of the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women, said no issues or challenges have arisen since the program began, and many students have shared their gratitude for it.
I was just at a conference yesterday and folks from all over the country were talking about how their campuses are starting to work on this.
Danielle Lutman
Hartman says the proposal received little pushback when it was introduced to Toledo City Council in October. “The only questions were how much money and where? So, it was a pretty easy decision,” she said.
The city is still in the contract and ordering process for the dispensers, which will be provided through Aunt Flow, a company founded by Sylvania native Claire Coder. “Aunt Flow has great statistics, and they also have great branding to kind of make people aware of why those dispensers are there, so they don’t really see a whole lot of vandalism or theft,” says Hartman.
The one-year pilot program will begin with dispensers in about half of the city’s bathrooms, but the plan is to eventually expand to all.
“I see this as the same kind of line item as toilet paper and paper towels,” she said. “I think we really just are going to have to increase that line item, and I don’t think it will be that big of a percentage.”
“I think the impact is pretty great, when you think about women who might not have access to menstrual products now can get them in a park, or get them from a community center,” she added.
Glass City draws attention from major salon company
TOLEDO – There are hundreds of salons in Toledo, and – as the industry grows – one company plans to expand to the Glass City, providing local entrepreneurs a place to showcase their talents.
Phenix Salon Suites is a suite licensing company where franchisees essentially act as sub-landlords that go into a property, subdivide it into rooms or suites and rent it out. They rent the properties to entrepreneurs looking to open a hair, nail or makeup salon.
Phenix also works with lifestyle professions, such as massage therapists, teeth whitening, botox, chiropractors, and more. The company has 32 corporate locations and 400 franchise locations.
Philip Watson, vice president of global development, explained what the company saw in Toledo that prompted the expansion. Phenix Salon Suites plans to build three to four locations in Glass City and launch them in a few years.
“The Toledo market is a great market for Phenix salon suites because it adds all the main drivers we’re looking for,” he said.
Philip Watson
“To put it simply, we’re looking for concentrations of salons and salon professionals and in the Toledo DMA. We looked for a minimum of 50 salons for each of our locations, and that’s looking at hair, nail makeup, other types of salons,” he explained. “But looking at hair alone, there are 250 salons in Toledo, so the Toledo market is a three- to four-location market for us fairly easily.”
According to Watson, the company wants to avoid opening too many franchise locations and cannibalizing existing franchisees.
Phenix requires the renter of a suite to have a license in their profession. The only other requirement is to cover the rent. Watson says that Phenix offers freedom and flexibility for the renter.
To be a franchisee, he said it would be helpful to have marketing experience, as well as real estate or business ownership experience, but it is not a requirement. What he’s looking for is “passion for the industry and liquidity of at least 300,000 net worth of at least a million in order to have a shot at obtaining financing to open a location.”
Watson added that one of the biggest ways Phenix builds trust with clients is by maintaining the property. The other is by being a tenant. He also said they provide resources to their clients to market their business and increase their presence on social media.
For hairstylists, they provide equipment, such as a styling chair, mobile cabinet and a cabinet under the spa sink, and they are also encouraged to decorate the location how they want.
“We really let them flex their creative spirit,” Watson said.
Other resources the company provides are credit card processing, a loan program, scheduling software, as well as seminars and training videos.
One of the biggest factors that separates Toledo from other cities is the rental rates. Watson said the rates are much better than larger locations, like Miami or Manhattan. He said that the rent-to-income ratio in Toledo would be very strong.
Watson said Phenix Salon Suites does not have a rule against having too many of the same businesses in one building, but he hopes each location can be a one-stop shop for customers. At a franchise, a customer can get a haircut, go next store to get their nails done, and then go get a massage.
Watson talked about Gina Rivera, the company’s founder. He said she is a celebrity in the industry and spent more than 42,000 hours behind the chair cutting hair. He said that she has a strong family lineage with 29 family members in the industry.
“We provide all the support our franchisees need to be necessary. Everything from site search, lease negotiations, and build-out ongoing operational support technology to help them run their business, and with the gig economy on the rise and everybody wanting to be their own boss, we are well positioned to take advantage of that,” he said.
Pros and cons of starting a salon inToledo
Ebony Carter, director of the Minority Business Assistance Center and vice president of the Minority Business Services at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, shared an indicator that the salon industry is performing well in the city. She said that there have recently been two or three new salon locations and expansion projects around Toledo.
“There are never enough salons. I think the beauty industry is one of those industries that’s going to always be a high demand,” she said. “Even for men, you’re always going to need your hair done, but especially for women; you could never have enough options as far as where you’re going to get your hair done.”
Carter said people will have different experiences when opening a new business. She said that the difficulty of the process depends on the space that the building was before.
“If you’re a salon and you’re going into an old Pizza Hut, then of course there’s going to be a lot of regulations associated with that.“
One of the biggest mistakes people make when starting a business in Toledo is failing to use the Toledo Permit Planner. The permit planner identifies and estimates the permits, licenses, and fees needed to open or expand your business in Toledo. Carter warned of hidden pitfalls when starting a business and the permit planner can save you money.
Stacey Mallett, vice president of communications at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, said when it comes to starting a business in Toledo, “You don’t have to go on your own, and our services here are free.”
Steve DeMaio, director of the Small Business Development Center and vice president of business development services at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, discussed the benefits that business owners enjoy while working with a franchise like Phenix Salon Suites.
“You’re not incurring the overhead of purchasing or leasing a full space that you would be as a salon owner who owns a whole salon space. You are renting a solar space, but they’ve done the work with the landlord for establishing that.”
Other benefits he discussed are fewer building costs, the fact you still get to be your own boss, and you don’t always have to manage employees. Additionally, some franchises offer marketing, website support and other business services.
DeMaio also mentioned some downsides of working with a franchise, such as missing out on the benefits of entrepreneurial experiences of owning the building and being in full control. The other downside was the loss of some foot traffic; just because someone walks into the building does not mean they will be your customer.
Carter said the franchises benefit the city because they help people comply with the health department or the school cosmetology. Someone running their business out of their home may not comply. They are also good for people who cannot afford to have their place or struggle to bring in a suitable amount of foot traffic because they work in their homes.
