By Brooklynn Wong
Venus Spa Salon’s days may be numbered, and for good reason, says the La Palma City Council.
When the city undertook a “Massage Action Plan” to make sure the massage businesses in the city were conducting legal and legitimate business with proper documentation, it was determined that there were four or five massage parlors in the city with no use permit.
Venus Spa Salon was one of these, and when its owner, Henry Hoang, did apply for a conditional use permit recently, the city’s recommendation was to deny his application.
The matter was up for discussion at the March 19 City Council Meeting, and Hoang, along with a longtime customer and one of his employees, were there to speak on his behalf.
The business has been in various buildings in the Centerpointe area of La Palma since the early 2000s.
Since 2013, they have been in their current building, at 10 Centerpointe Dr., Suite 9.
The city began inspecting the business closely last February and March, and they discovered some red flags that made them wonder if there were more than just by-the-book massages going on.
Perhaps most damning were the reviews the city found online. A website called Rub Map that reviews and advertises erotic massage parlors listed Venus Spa Salon on its directory.
And on the salon’s website, city staff reported finding descriptions of erotic and exotic services available, and photos and descriptions of the “cute and friendly Asian girls” who work there, depicted as scantily clad.
The website also reportedly spoke of the parlor having a rear entrance for privacy.
The city found cameras in the reception area, possibly for alerting employees if law enforcement were to enter.
As far as reviews, there were some very graphic in nature, describing “sex acts.”
Due to the suspicious nature of the business, Planning Manager Scott Hutter, who made the presentation, recommended that Council deny Hoang a conditional use permit.
Hoang, however, was there, and attempted to clarify and defend his actions.
He said, first of all, that the city’s guidelines have been unclear.
And in 2006, the recession caused Hoang to change his business model, he said. The quality of customers coming into the salon was going down, and business overall was down, so he needed to be able to compete.
But after a time, he says, he did “let go of a few bad workers” as well as some nefarious customers as they were discovered.
He discouraged Council from believing everything they read on the internet. He said the erotic services listed on the website were “just for promotion; we don’t do those things.”
Some of the photos online were just stock images, and not even of his business, he said.
As for Rub Maps, Hoang said the reviews there could have been made up, and he questioned that website’s credibility.
Hoang also said he had some issues with being able to access and edit his website. Someone else was in charge of working on it, and when it became necessary to fix it and remove things from it, Hoang did not have the login credentials and wasn’t able to.
Hoang had one of his repeat customers with him at the meeting, a truck driver, who said he has a chronic injury, has tried all kinds of treatments and physical therapy, and massage is one thing that gives him noticeable relief in his back and shoulder. He sung the praises of Venus Spa Salon.
A female massage therapist at the salon also spoke, painting a picture of the business as a good place to work, and one that is run by-the-book.
However, when the Council was given a chance to provide feedback, each one expressed disdain, or at least suspicion.
Council Member Michele Steggell expressed anger, saying “we can not have this kind of business in our city…I am really disappointed.”
Council Member Nitesh Patel questioned Hoang on whether he has any written policies in place to prevent illegal activity. Hoang could not give a straight answer, just that he walks by the doors when his massage therapists are in with clients, to ensure that nothing nefarious is going on, and that there are no solid doors inside, just curtains, providing less of an opportunity to get away with anything illicit.
Patel was incredulous that the business had existed for 20 years, but did not have anything in writing to prevent illegal activity.
Staff said that even if Hoang were to “sanitize” his online presence, his business would not be up to code.
To which Hoang quietly asked, “How can that be?”
The Council voted 3-0 to deny his permit. Mayor Marshall Goodman and Council Member Gerard Goedhart were both absent.
A few days after the meeting, Planning Manager Hutter said that the salon is still open now, and there is a 15-day appeal period in which the applicant can appeal the Council’s decision.
The current application is only specific to the current site, so Hoang would be able to attempt to open a business elsewhere in the city.
Hoang was not available for comment.