Ann Cantrell thought she was building a career in fashion. She spent over a decade in product development at Ralph Lauren, Coach, and Brooks Brothers, turning sketches into products and learning the vendor, margin, and production game. But all the while, she was quietly stockpiling binders of ideas, gift products, fixtures, and concepts, planning for the day she’d open her own store.

In 2007, after securing a $150K home-equity loan and leaving corporate life behind, Ann opened Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store in a 520 sq ft “vanilla box” in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Ann ran the shop by day and freelanced on Mondays and Thursday mornings to make ends meet. Six years later, she moved into a bigger 1,100 sq ft space on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, quadrupling her foot traffic and planting herself on what Time Out later named the “coolest street in New York City.”

Nearly 18 years in, Blue Ribbon is thriving, up ~40% since pre-COVID, with tens of thousands of SKUs, thousands of vendors, and a team of four full-timers and eight part-timers. Ann balances the store with her role as a professor at FIT, where she teaches sustainability and fashion merchandising, while still doing what she loves most: "zhuzhing" the shelves, curating seasonal stories, and building community through happy-hour Thursdays, mahjong cohorts, and even a cult-favorite $1 mini print vending machine that draws collectors citywide.

We cover:

• How Ann pivoted from corporate fashion to independent retail
• The 10-year “always be planning” phase before opening in 2007
• Breaking down the $150K opening budget: rent, website, and inventory
• Why she chose a no-frills vanilla box over a costly buildout
• Lessons from moving to Park Slope and quadrupling foot traffic
• Operating at scale: tens of thousands of SKUs, thousands of vendors
• Structuring a small but mighty team (buyer/GM, logistics, store, marketing)
• Surviving COVID and coming out 40% stronger with online + events
• Why candles, cards, and candy remain the top sellers
• The philosophy of one extraordinary store > many average ones

If you’re curious about what it really takes to open and sustain an independent retail gift store in NYC, this episode is packed with hard numbers, survival tactics, merchandising insights, and community-building lessons from someone who’s been building in Brooklyn for nearly two decades.

Resources & Links
Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store: https://www.blueribbongeneralstore.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anniesblueribbongeneralstore

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Jonny thought he was headed for a JD/MBA and a career in tech. Instead, a chance encounter with the founder of 7th Street Burger pulled him into the restaurant world. He hustled through cashier shifts, shadowed build-outs, and cycled through ice cream shops like Cafe Panna and il laboratorio del gelato before landing in the pizza game.

In June 2024, at just 24 years old, he opened Jonny’s Pizza on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side. The buildout cost $250–300K, with a $16.5K/month lease, and the early days were brutal: weekend-only hours, overstaffing, and even a Saturday night where his only pizza maker no-showed, forcing Jonny to jump on the oven himself until 3:30 a.m.

A year later, the shop is cranking out 250 pies on Saturdays, averaging $11–12 tickets and 800–900 customers a night. Jonny has built a training system that turns zero-experience hires into pizza makers using an Instagram video playbook, kept the menu tight and nostalgic, and leaned into NYC culture with run-club collabs, slice deals, and even Persian-inspired ice cream sandwiches.

We cover:

• How Jonny pivoted from JD/MBA plans to restaurant entrepreneurship
• Lessons learned working at 7th Street Burger, Cafe Panna, and other shops
• Opening costs and real numbers behind a $16.5K/month LES lease
• Surviving key-person risk when the only pizza maker no-showed
• Building an Instagram-based training archive to onboard new staff
• Why he only hires young, zero-experience pizza makers
• Growing from weekend-only to 7 days a week, 800–900 tickets on Saturdays
• Driving weekday demand with $8.50 slice-and-drink deals, small pies, and specials
• The balance between scaling vs. perfecting one store like Katz’s Deli
• Brand building through collabs, run clubs, and community—not corporate hype

If you’re curious about what it really takes to open a New York City restaurant, this episode is packed with tactical lessons on staffing, training, buildout costs, customer demand, and building a brand in one of the most competitive food markets in the world.

Resources & Links
Jonny’s Pizza Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonnyspizzanyc/

Website: https://jonnyspizzanyc.com/

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Victor Del Valle went from aspiring dentist to NCP bodybuilder to scrappy trainer hustling through the pandemic, literally converting his NYC apartment into a one-on-one gym. Within weeks he was booked 6am–9pm, charging $100/hr and even spinning up daily Zoom classes for eBay employees.

He parlayed that traction into Aesthetic Lab: first a bright, SoHo studio, then a larger TriBeCa flagship. Today he leads a 9-trainer team focused on high-touch personal training, nutrition, and recovery (cold plunge + sauna), powered by 3D body scans and a “results first, vibes high” culture. 

We dig into his leap from employee to owner, the cost/revenue math behind two NYC studios, and the unglamorous ops of hiring, quality control, and delegation.

We cover:

• How Victor pivoted from biochemistry and dentistry into bodybuilding and fitness
• Turning a NYC apartment into a 13-clients-a-day business during the pandemic
• Landing a corporate contract with eBay to train employees virtually
• Saving cash and bootstrapping his first SoHo studio with a $250K buildout
• Why he doubled down with a $500K TriBeCa location—without outside investors
• Hiring and management lessons: from desperate early hires to building a strong team
• The importance of natural light and location in gym design (never a basement!)
• Seasonality in NYC fitness and how he plans staffing around it
• Branding and exposure as the next big hurdle in growing Aesthetic Lab

If you’re interested in opening a fitness studio, this episode is packed with practical lessons on validating demand, budgeting for buildouts, hiring the right team, and staying in control while scaling.

Resources & Links

• Aesthetic Lab: https://www.aestheticlab.nyc
• Aesthetic Lab (IG): https://www.instagram.com/weareaestheticlab/
• Victor Valle (IG): https://www.instagram.com/victor_del_valle/

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

In this episode, Alan talks with Marissa Martin, Nashville-based colorist and co-founder of House of Tone, a boutique salon in the Wedgwood-Houston neighborhood. After three years of college, Marissa followed her instincts into cosmetology, building a loyal clientele and a decade-long career that included high-profile clients and a front-row seat to how salons scale, and bloat.

In 2025, Marissa and her partner Gabby opened House of Tone in a clever live–work space rather than taking on a seven-figure buildout. They invested ~$50K of their own cash, paid it back in about two months, and have been profitable since. They've done this all while preserving a Monday–Thursday schedule and a clear boundary on work-life balance.

We cover:

• Why Marissa walked away from a $1M buildout to open in a live–work space
• How House of Tone recouped its $50K startup cost in just two months
• What she learned from Summit-style salons versus creative freedom
• The role of Instagram, sidewalk signs, and community in building clientele
• Monetizing constraints: four chairs, Mon–Thu founder schedules, and using Fri/Sat for classes/events/rentals 
• Why they rejected investors, used light bank exposure, and kept full control 
• How she balances growth with lifestyle and work-life priorities

If you're interested in building a brick and mortar beauty store, this episode will help you evaluate salon models, deciding between “showpiece” buildouts and scrappy profit-first openings, and how to protect your lifestyle while you grow. 

Resources & Links
House of Tone (IG): https://www.instagram.com/officialhouseoftone
Marissa Martin (IG): https://www.instagram.com/marissamartinhair

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

In this episode, Alan talks with Yoseph Raja, co-founder of Thin Cookies, a fast-growing cookie brand with locations in Long Island and Manhattan’s West Village. Trained as a pharmacist, Yoseph never expected to be in the food business, but during COVID he and his wife began baking at home, experimenting with a softer, chewier version of Tate’s. What started as Instagram pickup orders quickly grew into wholesale accounts, and eventually their first retail storefront.

When they opened in Hicksville, the response exceeded expectations, selling thousands of cookies each week and building a loyal local following. But it was their second location, a bold move onto Bleecker Street in the West Village, that put Thin Cookies on the map. With lines out the door, a provocative “Better Than Crumbl” sign, and even Marcus Lemonis stopping by, Yoseph and his wife have proven their thin cookies can compete in the one of the most crowded dessert markets in the country.

We cover:

• How Thin Cookies scaled from a home kitchen to 25+ wholesale accounts
• Why Yoseph walked away from rapid wholesale growth to focus on retail quality
• Bootstrapping a 2,000 sq ft commissary kitchen and a $200k Manhattan buildout
• The bold marketing bet that differentiated Thin Cookies from national chains
• Balancing growth, quality, and family while building a food brand from scratch
• Lessons from working with his wife as co-founder and navigating early challenges
• What’s next for Thin Cookies, from additional NYC locations to potential expansion

Whether you’re thinking about starting a food brand, weighing wholesale vs. retail, or curious how to stand out in a crowded market, this episode is packed with insights on brand building, bootstrapping, and growth strategy.

Resources & Links
Thin Cookies: https://www.instagram.com/thincookies
Follow Yoseph: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yosephraja/

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

In this episode of Opening Soon, Alan sits down with Nicole, the founder of Glo Up, a thriving beauty brand and spray tan studio based in Chicago.

Nicole shares her journey from working in hospitality and nightclubs to discovering spray tanning while living in Boston, and eventually building Glo Up from her basement in 2019 into a full-scale brand with a storefront, product line, and loyal client base.

We cover:

• How Nicole turned a $417 first month into $70,000 monthly revenue business.
• The role of mentorship, working with a chemist to create high-quality tanning formulas.
• Surviving and adapting during COVID by launching a product line and leveraging organic influencer marketing.
• The challenges of growing a brick-and-mortar business, from hiring and training staff to navigating competition and copycats.
• Nicole’s vision for Glo Up’s future, including expansion, franchising, and scaling the product side of the brand.
• Navigating a divorce and how running her a business helped her
• Her personal reflections on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building independence through business ownership.

Nicole’s story is one of grit, reinvention, and belief in yourself even when others doubt you, a must-listen for anyone interested in building their own brand from the ground up.

Where to find Nicole & Glow Up:

• Website: https://www.gloupco.com/
• Instagram: @gloupchicago
• Email: [email protected]

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

In this episode, Alan talks with Edouard Benitah, co-founder of Pari Pari, a hand roll bar in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Originally from Paris, Edouard came to the U.S. in 2015, working his way up through the restaurant industry in New York and Los Angeles. He fell in love with the streamlined, high-impact concept of a dedicated hand roll bar after experiencing Kazunori in LA: minimal staff, efficient operations, and a focus on quality.

When he moved to Miami during the pandemic, he was surprised there were no hand roll bars in the city. Alongside co-founders Hugo and Ben, and Michelin-starred chef Yasu Tanaka, he began building the concept from scratch. The journey has been three years in the making, with over 54 inspections, complex permitting, and nearly $1M raised, but the payoff is a proof-of-concept flagship designed to scale to multiple Miami locations.

We cover:

• Why Miami was the perfect launch city despite massive permitting challenges
• How partnering with a Michelin-starred chef elevated the concept
• The three co-founders’ clearly defined roles: development, branding, operations
• Creating a brand experience that blends Japanese culinary tradition with French design
• How to time your PR and Instagram launch for maximum impact
• Lessons from working in New York, LA, and Miami’s different dining cultures
• Scaling plans and what it takes to protect brand integrity across multiple locations

Whether you’re opening your first hospitality concept or scaling a brand in a competitive market, this episode is packed with insights on branding, operations, and the patience required to survive the buildout phase.

Resources & Links
Pari Pari: https://www.instagram.com/paripari_miami/
Follow Edouard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edouard-benitah-502296a8/

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

What if you could launch a profitable coworking space for $65,000, with no staff, and scale that model to thousands of locations?

That’s exactly what Robert Kellman is doing with Enclave, a suburban coworking company he founded just before the pandemic. Today, Enclave operates 20+ profitable locations across the U.S. and has raised $6 million in venture funding to fuel a bold plan: build 5,000 no-staff coworking spaces where people actually live.

In this episode of Opening Soon, Robert shares his journey from working in politics and Uber to identifying an overlooked market opportunity hiding in plain sight, affluent suburbs full of remote workers with nowhere to go but a noisy Starbucks. We dive into how he tested the idea, built the first location, survived COVID, and ultimately raised capital to scale a surprisingly lean operation.

We cover:

• How Enclave runs 20+ coworking locations with zero on-site staff
• Why suburban coworking is still massively underbuilt
• The tech and automation powering Enclave’s no-staff model
• Lessons from scaling Uber and running political campaigns
• Raising a $2.2M pre-seed led by Newstack and expanding nationally
• Mistakes made (and what Robert would do differently next time)
• What it takes to open 150+ locations by 2027

Whether you’re building a brick-and-mortar business or thinking about how to scale operationally without breaking the bank, this episode is packed with tactical insights, hard-won lessons, and one very compelling vision of the future of work.

Resources & Links
Enclave: https://enclavecoworking.com
Follow Robert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-kellman-280a18a/

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Before Sheridan St. Claire opened her boutique Pilates studio in St. George, Utah, she was a former gymnast with two bad shoulders, a sore back, and no clear path forward. That changed when she discovered Pilates—not as a workout trend, but as a way to heal. Her journey took her from Utah to Florence, Italy (where she noticed how Europeans stayed healthy without ever stepping into a gym), and then to the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, where she found a movement community that inspired her to create her own back home.

In this episode, Sheridan talks about opening her studio in the middle of COVID, choosing a minimalist and intentional approach to class sizes, launching her own Pilates app, and how she’s built a loyal following through events and word-of-mouth. This one is packed with honest insights for anyone building a brick-and-mortar fitness studio brand.

Highlights:

• How Pilates helped her avoid double shoulder surgery at age 19
• What she learned from living in Florence, Italy about movement, health, and slowing down
• The moment in Hawaii that made her realize she needed to build her own studio back home
• Opening Symmetry Pilates right as COVID hit in 2020
• Why she caps classes at 8 reformers, even though she could squeeze in more
• Growing entirely by word of mouth and local events
• Launching the Symmetry On Demand app and juggling five Instagram accounts
• What she’d do differently if she were starting from scratch

Episode Links:

• Symmetry Pilates Website
• Symmetry Pilates Instagram
• Sheridan’s Instagram
• Download the Symmetry Pilates App

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/

Jordan Feise spent over a decade working in B2B SaaS marketing at companies like Gong and early-stage startups. But after years of struggling to find consistent, high-quality brow care, she saw an opportunity to build something different. That idea became Two of a Kind — a brand-forward, service-first beauty studio in Los Angeles that's now profitable, growing, and known for its ultra-personalized approach.

In this episode, we talk about how Jordan went from side hustling pop-ups out of a branded Sprinter van to building a 950 sq ft studio with a team of 12. She shares her hiring playbook, how she nailed customer retention, and why she’s focused on “perfecting the recipe” before opening more locations.

Topics covered:
→ How Jordan pivoted from SaaS to beauty
→ Starting with pop-ups and scaling while still working full-time
→ Hiring and training the Two of a Kind way
→ Why her brand aesthetic is intentional and inclusive
→ What it means to build a service business with real process
→ The truth about press, PR, and organic growth
→ Profitability by month 3 — and what’s next

Episode-Specific Links:
→ Two of a Kind – https://www.twoofakindbrows.com
→ Jordan Feise – https://www.instagram.com/jordannfeise/
→ Two of a Kind Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/twoofakindbrows
→ Behind the Brow Substack – https://substack.com/@behindthebrow?

Sponsored by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
→ Signs and furniture for events and retail stores: https://signsandmirrors.com
→ NYC and Houston’s first self-portrait studio: https://fotolab.studio
→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/