Sola opens 100-chair salon in Northeast Minneapolis

The facility, which Sola Salon Studios said is “the largest in the Midwest,” offers hairstylists, estheticians, tattoo artists and more independent studios in a shared space.
By Carson Hartzog
The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 6, 2025 at 9:31PM
Ally Kanzenbach, owner of House of Koz, prepared her new space at Sola Salon Studios in Northeast Minneapolis. The opening of the 101-stall facility brings hairstylists, estheticians and tattoo artists together under one warehouse roof. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
A “mall” dedicated to beauty opened Saturday in Northeast Minneapolis, bringing the likes of hairstylists, estheticians and tattoo artists into one 29,000-square-foot warehouse.
The opening of Sola Salon Studios, the 101-stall building touted in the news release as “the largest salon in the Midwest,” marks the latest expansion for the national franchise. Like at all Sola salons, the facility on Northeast Second Street next to Fulton’s brewery leases out various spaces to independent beauty professionals who specialize in nail, hair, massage and more.
Many Sola salons around the Twin Cities are part of strip malls. This new outpost looks more like a small-scale shopping center all on its own.
Most traditional salons average eight chairs, said Erin Elgin, who oversees 14 Sola Salons in the Twin Cities. More than 75 service providers have signed leases at the new site, and the space holds 114 chairs with a few multi-chair studios. The current makeup of leased studios is roughly 80% hair stylists and barbers and 20% everything else, per Elgin.
“We keep our rents at a price point so that anybody can come in,” Elgin said. “You walk through, and you see people at all different stages in their career and the diversity of service providers all under one roof.”
Erin Elgin, who oversees Sola Salon Northeast, stands for a portrait in the Minneapolis location on Oct. 1. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Another of Elgin’s locations in Eden Prairie started as 37 studios but has since expanded to 72, something people thought was “crazy to do,” she said. But the buildout of that space helped shape her vision for the Northeast location.
“The whole expansion was sold out before we opened,” Elgin said of Eden Prairie. “That told me, ‘Well, if it’s already sold out before it opens, we can go even bigger in the right spot.”
Elgin bought the Northeast building for $2.8 million last year, transforming the former marketing facility and printing press into a one-stop hub for beauty and wellness. The renovation cost another $4.8 million.
The setup offers service providers a middle ground between traditional salons and owning their own brick-and-mortars. Tenants pay an all-inclusive weekly rent ranging from about $250 to $450 per week, based on square footage and the number of exterior windows. That figure includes utilities and on-site support from Sola as well as access to amenities like a fitness center; a yoga and meditation space; and a podcast and content-creation studio. An in-house beauty supply store is also available for any licensed professional, not just those leasing space at Sola.
Each studio comes with standard sinks, cabinetry and salon chairs. But tenants can choose to have Sola install personalized fixtures and decorations. Every lease includes three hours of moving and decorating help.
Leases run two years, but Elgin said they are “easy-out” contracts. That lease flexibility and additional support attracted esthetician Ally Kanzenbach, who said the Sola model gives her professional and creative freedom without the overhead of managing a storefront.
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“In my previous suites, I’ve had to be responsible for the installation. And it gets expensive when you’re doing that,” Kanzenbach said. “I don’t have experience putting screws on the wall. I don’t know where the electricity is. When everything is combined and taken care of for you, it alleviates so much stress.”
Barbers Jamal Rayford and Patrick Amoako check out the new spaces at Sola Salon in Minneapolis. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The personal care industry endured major upheaval recently, when the pandemic shuttered salons for three months in 2020 and allowed for operating at just 25% capacity in the months after re-opening.
Minneapolis-based Regis Corp., which owns Super Cuts and operates nationwide, saw its profits drop 76% in those first months back, and many in the field worried if customers would stick with their do-it-yourself routines the pandemic forced.
about the writer
Carson Hartzog
Retail reporter
Carson Hartzog is a business reporter covering Target, Best Buy and the various malls.
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