Those who frequent nail salons know it’s not just about adding a fresh coat of polish to your nails. It’s also about escaping from your everyday responsibilities by indulging in a luxurious experience — an experience The Ten Nail Bar co-founders Kelli Coleman and Anika Odegbo believed to be missing from Detroit when they first opened in Capitol Park in 2016.
The Detroit natives opened the salon when they noticed the city’s economy starting to bounce back and attract the attention of developers and entrepreneurs from around the world. At the time, they say, there weren’t many nail salons downtown, especially ones that offered their modern services and experiences.
“We knew that the residents would value this, that they deserved this, but no one had stepped out and really elevated this type of routine beauty treatment,” Coleman says.
At the nail bar, which moved to Woodward Avenue in New Center in 2019, guests enjoy convenient features including online booking and an online chatbot. They can also expect consistently pleasant customer service when they visit The Ten — they’re greeted by name; offered complimentary Champagne, coffee, or tea; and allowed to take control of the TV remote and watch their favorite Netflix show.
Now, Coleman and Odegbo are taking their company to the next level by expanding it nationwide through a franchise model, with six locations potentially opening this year in Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Nevada, Illinois, and North Carolina. They hope to open many more throughout the country with the intention of creating a go-to national footprint that offers consistency in customer service, workmanship, and experience.
“For us to be doing this in our eighth year is surreal, and I am excited about bringing other people into The Ten family,” Odegbo says. “I look forward to the future of this brand and really being a place where people can call home and be incredibly comfortable, knowing that they’re going to get consistent quality and affordable luxury.”
The Ten also highlights small local businesses throughout the year by hosting events on Valentine’s Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and more where companies can use its space to sell their products. In 2019, it even hosted a video discussion between Bernie Sanders and Cardi B around the time two Democratic primary debates were held in Detroit.
The employees, some of whom are recruited from local cosmetology schools, receive in-house training — to ensure they’re meeting The Ten’s expectations in terms of the brand experience — and mentorship. “We do spend time with new manicurists, because going from school and stepping into the professional space, there’s an experience gap for people, so we are very, very intentional about that training,” Odegbo says.
With their franchise model, Coleman and Odegbo hope to use their blueprint to empower others to be business owners and entrepreneurs while supporting them from an operational and marketing perspective with a “tested and proven concept that we built.”
This story originally appeared in the March 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on March 10.
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