Prominence, opulence, exuberance

When the owners of Winnipeg salon chain Venetian Nail Spa celebrate the grand opening of their third location on Friday, it will be the culmination of a dream that started more than a decade ago.

Even before the Chau family opened their first salon in Kildonan Place in 2021, they dreamed about setting up shop in CF Polo Park.

The shopping centres in Cadillac Fairview Corp.’s portfolio have long impressed the family, and they contacted it in 2015 to enquire about acquiring space in Winnipeg’s largest mall.

In May 2025, they signed a lease. One year later, they’re getting ready to welcome customers.

Victor Chau, who helps his parents run the business alongside his older brother, Hung Chau, notes CF Polo Park held the ninth spot when the International Council of Shopping Centers released its annual Canadian rankings last month.

The annual study covers 111 shopping centres based on sales per square foot as of Dec. 31, 2025.

CF Polo Park grew from $1,030 per square foot in 2023 to $1,120 in 2024 to $1,214 in 2025 — a gain of about $90 to $95 per square foot each year for three consecutive years.

“For a market the size of Winnipeg, those are numbers that deserve attention,” wrote 6ix Retail, an online publication that reports on the retail industry.

The mall’s prominence has always been attractive to the Chau family, says Victor, who, at 17 years old, is helping prepare for the grand opening while finishing Grade 12 at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate.

“Allowing us to operate within CF Polo Park really opens us up to a new market,” he says. “It opens us up to a higher level of a retail space, which is something we’re extremely grateful for.

“I mean, it’s a dream of 10 years and I’m happy to say that we finally got it done.”

There’s something about stepping into a Venetian Nail Spa salon that feels like a dream. The opulent decor almost makes you forget you’re in a mall.

The company entered the local market in 2021, when it opened a 2,500-sq.-ft. space in Kildonan Place. A 1,500-sq.-ft. location in St. Vital Centre opened in 2022. (That salon subsequently moved to a 4,000-sq.-ft. space earlier this year.)

The Polo Park salon isn’t the company’s largest — it’s about the same size as the Kildonan Place location — but the Chau family considers it Venetian Nail Spa’s flagship store.

Although the family declines to specify how much they spent on renovating space on the mall’s main level, they did admit to investing more money per square foot than they have at the other salons.

The family imported approximately 12,000 sq. ft. of marble from Tuscany.

The chairs and chandeliers were custom-made through the company’s Italian designer to align with the salon’s overall aesthetic.

“The amount of detail that was poured into this, the intricacy of every single detail, was planned for the client,” Victor says.

“What you can expect when you come into Venetian CF is that it’s not simply just a nail salon … We want to make it a destination for clients to have a bit of a getaway.”

The salon has 21 pedicure chairs and 21 manicure chairs. It’s also licensed, so that customers can enjoy a drink while they get treatments.

Venetian Nail Spa’s first two salons employ around 50 people. The Chau family expects to hire 30 to 35 new staff for the Polo Park location, Victor says.

“We really enjoy ensuring that we are hiring locally and just helping the community itself.”

Victor’s parents know what it’s like to work for someone else. After they emigrated from Vietnam in 2006, Victor’s mother got a job as a nail technician at a salon and his father found work as a handyman. Eventually, they started talking about opening a salon of their own.

“When you think of a salon, a lot of people think of a very mom-and-pop store, and we wanted to elevate that,” Victor says. “We wanted to ensure that our primary focus was on the quality that our customers were receiving.”

Serving customers at a high standard is rewarding, he adds.

“What it simmers down to is that when clients come in, we want them to (leave) happy. That’s something we always try for — always, always, always, always — because clients trust us with their time and we really hope to deliver what they expect from us.”

Cadillac Fairview Corp. is “thrilled” to have Venetian Nail Spa in the mall, says Peter Havens, general manager of CF Polo Park.

“Venetian Nail Spa offers an interesting and unique experience in the nail spa realm,” he says. “They really strive to pamper their guests and we think that fits nicely with our customer base.”

It was nice to find out the Chau family endeavoured for a decade to become a part of the property, Havens adds. “We’re so thrilled to be able to finally make that happen.”

There will be a lot going on at CF Polo Park on Friday. In addition to Venetian Nail Spa’s grand opening, Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo is opening its first Winnipeg store.

Uniqlo has planned a number of festivities, and Venetian Nail Spa has, too, Victor says. From May 15 to 22, customers will receive 50 per cent off all services on its grand opening menu.

“I’m almost lost for words for it — it seems like such a surreal moment,” he says. “We’re just unbelievably excited to really have the doors open and have clients come in and really experience Venetian for themselves.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca