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Family Nail Salon, owned by Maria "Fanny" Montero, recently opened at 225 High St., Torrington. 

Family Nail Salon, owned by Maria "Fanny" Montero, recently opened at 225 High St., Torrington. 

Family Nail Salon, owned by Maria "Fanny" Montero, recently opened at 225 High St., Torrington. 

Family Nail Salon, owned by Maria "Fanny" Montero, recently opened at 225 High St., Torrington. 

TORRINGTON — Maria "Fanny" Montero and her three sisters enjoyed special treatment growing up in New York City. “My mom has 20 years of (salon) experience, so she always did our nails,” Montero said.

That pretty much nailed down her choice of a career. Montero recently opened Family Nail Salon in the Torrington Commons Shopping Center.

For the past five years, while still living in New York, Montero worked weekends at nail salons in Litchfield and Waterbury, pampering other women – and yes, some men – with the same kind of caring treatment her mom showed her and her sisters.

This past summer, she partnered with Karen Bethel, a friend from Danbury, and invested in all new equipment to start her business here.

“She told me it might be a good idea to start a business around this area because a lot of salons are more on Main Street and the other side of Torrington, and over here there’s not much,” she said. 

A former nail salon recently vacated her location at 225 High St., and everything has been replaced. “It’s all new,” Montero said. 

And it’s not just nails. “We do wax, eyebrows, lips, bikini, every type of waxing. We do full body massage and chair massage,” she said.

Hundreds of nail color choices are displayed, bearing such popular brands as OPI, Sinful Colors, DND and more. A magnetic gel polish from Japan gives nails a swirled, textured look. “It’s really in style right now,” Montero said.

She and her two technicians share a total of 40 years’ experience in cosmetology, she said. As the business grows, she plans to hire more.

For now, three technicians can serve more than three customers at the same time.

“For example, you do powder, you dry for a few minutes, you could go ahead and start with the next person,” Montero said.

“We have a ventilation system set up,” she said. “Every time we do any type of service, we turn it on, and it carries all the scents and smells that are toxic outside.”

Four ventilation shafts connect manicure and pedicure stations to a long duct near the ceiling, carrying chemical and other fumes safely outside, she said. John Palladino, building inspector for the City of Torrington, said the ventilation system was installed to comply with the 2015 International Mechanical Code portion of the 2018 Connecticut State Building Code.

Montero and her technicians enjoy the work because their customers, especially women customers, get a boost of self-confidence when they get a manicure, she said.

“You could be a stay-at-home mom, you know, and your day is basically just taking care of the kids and doing housework. But they come and do their nails and they feel incredible after doing their nails. They say it’s something they can’t explain, just having their nails done," she said. "The next day, they wake up and they look at their nails and they’re like, Oh, it’s a happy day.”

Montero believes there is a great demand for her services because other local salons are often fully booked.

“It’s been a problem,” she said. “I feel like what's different here is that we have the atmosphere to feel like family. That’s why we named it Family Nail Salon. We try our best to make it like a family environment.”

She said she tries to make every customer feel special. “We ask them if they want water. We give them heated pads for their shoulders. We give them a massage. We try our best to make them feel welcome and taken care of,” she said.

Family Nail Salon is open Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more information, find Family Nail Salon on Facebook. For appointments, call 860-482-1173.