Lunar Massage, the “no frills” massage studio based near rapidly-gentrifying Mount Vernon Square, is expanding. The studio is celebrating with a “Grand Opening Weekend” and an “Open(ing) House” reception this Friday evening.
Adams Morgan has long been the locus of the hard working young professionals that Joanna Robinson, the entrepreneuse behind the operation, has pinpointed as the demographic that wouldn’t mind squeezing some physical relief into their busy schedule, but don’t have the time for or interest in the full spa treatment.
The new studio, a walk-up on bustling Columbia Road, NW, is just a short jaunt from other centers of young, busy professionals in nearby Mount Pleasant, Dupont Circle and the latest neighborhood where this set is staking out, Petworth. (Lunar’s original studio easily accessible to Bloomingdale, Shaw, Logan Circle and H St., NE corridor, more neighborhoods where those young professionals are moving in.)
Robinson aptly describes her target audience as the “engine of DC,” the folks who are working long hours, driving the agenda in the Nation’s Capital. This is, in Robinson’s terming, “the smart phone crowd,” and targeting them with new media has paid off, reaching them directly where their attention is directed, on their cell phones and in their inboxes.
While these types could be, by most standards, identified as an “elite,” they have been receptive to Lunar’s offer to “democratize massage” by offering a more affordable massage, stripping it of the superfluous “pampering,” the “zen, fancy stuff,” as Robinson light-heartedly dismisses it. Clients can usually schedule a massage the same day they need it, and then get on with their day.
Robinson looked at the massage industry and found them focused on the “pampering,” but research confirmed what she suspected: most people seek out a massage when they’re in pain – after they’re injured while working out, taking care of their bodies. They aren’t in the market for a luxurious, cosmetic indulgence.
How did Robinson identify what her audience was looking for? “I’ve been that person.” Robinson has logged a few years of experience in DC in those circles, working in fundraising for non-profit groups.
When asked where in the District you can find the “zen, fancy stuff,” Robinson notes that there are full-service spas along K St. They cater to high priced lawyers and “Gucci-clad” lobbyists who can take an afternoon off. Lunar’s studios bring the massage to Adams Morgan and Mount Vernon Square, where the young professional who work for them live and need some relief now.
