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Lucy Wang who specializes in acupressure, a traditional Chinese pain relief technology that applies pressure to specific points in the body, demonstrates the on her husband Ralph Philippi on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Wang and Philippi co-own Amazing Foot Spa in San Antonio.
Lucy Wang who specializes in acupressure, a traditional Chinese pain relief technology that applies pressure to specific points in the body, works on a costumer, on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Wang also specializes in reflexology, which focuses pressure on the feet or hands co- owns Amazing Foot Spa with her husband Ralph Philippi in San Antonio.
Lucy Wang who specializes in acupressure, a traditional Chinese pain relief technology that applies pressure to specific points in the body, demonstrates the on her husband Ralph Philippi on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Wang and Philippi co-own Amazing Foot Spa in San Antonio.
Lucy Wang who specializes in acupressure, a traditional Chinese pain relief technology that applies pressure to specific points in the body, demonstrates the on her husband Ralph Philippi on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Wang and Philippi co-own Amazing Foot Spa in San Antonio.
An increase of small businesses offering back rubs, massages and spa services in Castle Hills has city leaders worried that some of the new arrivals — or others that might locate there in the future — could be in the sex trade.
One City Council member in the small North Side community has initiated an open-ended review of Castle Hills ordinances after hearing concerns about window illustrations and signage that neighboring businesses say give the suburb a seedy appearance.
But beyond a few sketchy storefronts, there’s no evidence so far that these operators are selling sex.
City officials are not aware of any businesses that meet the suburb’s legal definition of “massage parlor” — classified as a sexually oriented businesses in the local code — whose services involve exposure of “specified anatomical areas.”
But the memory of one establishment that was shut down in a 2014 prostitution sting — in addition to a more recent statewide effort to crack down on human trafficking — has left Castle Hills officials pondering whether the city needs to do more to protect its reputation.
Unnamed massage business on North West Military Highway is next to Southern Liqueur and Wine.
City Alderman Joe Izbrand is asking the Zoning Commission to review local ordinances regulating spas, salons, studios and other businesses that provide various massage services.
There are at least nine storefront spas or massage businesses in the city, including seven on or along Northwest Military Highway. The city has about 4,500 residents, with a median age of 46.8 — more than 12 years older than that of Bexar County.
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“For a city that’s just two and a half square miles in size, that does seem to be a lot,” Izbrand said at a recent council meeting. “It’s not my intent to make any kind of broad judgment about the nature of these businesses, but it really does beg the question of why they choose to locate in Castle Hills. And I believe it relates in part to our ordinances and how they are regulated.”
Lucy Wang who specializes in acupressure, a traditional Chinese pain relief technology that applies pressure to specific points in the body, demonstrates the on her husband Ralph Philippi on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Wang and Philippi co-own Amazing Foot Spa in San Antonio.
Three years ago, San Antonio updated its 1988 ordinance regarding massage businesses that sets cleanliness and sanitation standards and prohibits operations after 10 p.m. and before 8 a.m. The city relaxed a requirement for each of the more than 100 registered massage businesses to have local permits so it could focus on locations with repeated offenses.
The updated ordinance requires massage providers to register only if they’ve committed a criminal offense, violated the local property maintenance code or failed to post a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversees massage businesses and schools statewide.
Castle Hills businessman Bruce Smiley-Kaliff says the city sometimes struggles to keep its ordinances current with what San Antonio and other suburban municipalities are doing. He remembers a number of payday loan providers popping up in 2013, while he was the suburb’s mayor, after San Antonio enacted ordinances aimed at curbing predatory lending practices.
“In Castle Hills, we had nine of them open up in one week,” said Smiley-Kaliff, who was mayor from 2011 to 2014. “All of a sudden, everybody went, ‘Whoa, what’s happening?’”
Southern Liquor co-ower, Sahil Parab, stocks shelfs at his store in San Antonio, on Saturday, June 25th, 2022.
The opening in recent years of storefront massage operators, some with window illustrations of bare-backed men and women, has been gradual but with similar effect. Smiley-Kaliff was mayor when the Tui Na Spa, in a strip center on West, was shut down in 2014. A masseuse was charged with prostitution for offering a sex act to an undercover police officer during a massage.
People had noticed a steady stream of men at the business, sometimes spending as little as 15 minutes inside. Smiley-Kaliff, currently a member of the suburb’s Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, said the Tui Na Spa “went away … never to be thought of in this city for a number of years.”
“Until this year, when all of a sudden, (more massage storefronts) just sort of started popping up, I really don’t think it was on anybody’s radar,” he said.
At least two new such businesses have moved in this year.
Smiley-Kaliff and Izbrand have said the city doesn’t intend to interfere with legitimate, licensed operators who provide therapeutic massage services, often in medical or professional offices. But Izbrand did not rule out the possibility of restrictions on signage, appearance and proximity to schools, parks, churches and homes, particularly for any future storefront operators that move into Castle Hills.
“Our ordinance is relatively brief and, among other things, although it defines what constitutes a massage parlor, it does not constitute … what defines a spa,” Izbrand told the council. “I believe that this review can actually be beneficial to our business community and to reputable spas with highly trained, licensed (massage) therapists who want to locate to Castle Hills.”
His proposal to send the matter to the Zoning Commission for any recommended changes was briefly discussed and unanimously approved. Alderman Kurt May supported “surgical changes, not ones that enforce prohibition” in the city code.
“It’s not bad for our city to be known as the most pampered citizenry in the country,” May said. “It might be even good to be known as a place that you can get a good, reputable massage.”
The Zoning Commission will discuss the issue at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
City officials said they’re not sure how often the state licensing department, which takes the lead on checking for compliance, inspects the businesses. Castle Hills Police Department officers “remain proactive in recognizing criminal activity at all of our businesses,” the city said.
A newly renovated massage business — called Athena Wellness — in a high-visibility spot next to a liquor store in the 1900 block of Northwest Military has provided much of the impetus for the review. Izbrand said he’s “been approached by a number of residents as well as our business community to ask questions about it.”
“It has prompted questions from them about density and operation of these types of businesses in our city,” he told council members.
Saul Arizpe, whose family owns the Pavilions at Castle Hills, a strip center across the street, submitted a letter to the council, worried about the new business and others that could “degrade the appeal” of Castle Hills.
“In the past, I’ve been approached by these types of businesses but have turned them down because they tend to offer other illegal services, which ultimately hurts my center and the immediate area,” Arizpe wrote. “So I’d appreciate any and all help in monitoring this business across from the Pavilions and helping to mitigate the type of signage and advertising they are allowed to put on the building and the windows.”
Unnamed massage business on North West Military Highway is next to Southern Liqueur and Wine.
Employees of the new massage business referred questions to a supervisor, who provided few details but said in an email that it will operate in compliance with local and state laws. City Manager Ryan Rapelye said Athena Wellness received its certificate of occupancy Thursday.
On a recent visit, a sign at the front of the business listed 10 services, from Swedish massage for $50 per hour to a two-hour, light pressure massage for $120. Deep tissue and pressure-point massage, aromatherapy, hot stone treatment and cupping and scraping therapies also were listed.
Sahil Parab, co-owner of Southern Liquor and Wine, which opened a year ago, works next door to the new massage place.
“I’ve seen people come and go, but not in a concerning way. I couldn’t tell if they were customers,” Parab said.
Parab, who runs the liquor store with his wife and parents, supports a review of laws regarding massage businesses. He mentioned the licenses posted at his store entrance for cigarettes, beer, liquor and lottery tickets, along with a local occupancy certificate.
“Every business needs to be checked out,” he said. “We have so many lists we have to check before we can open up. Whatever we sell in here, we have licenses for that.”
Parab said he and his family have a good thing going in Castle Hills at their “mom-and-pop shop.” He’s welcoming his neighbors and keeping an open mind but worries about “people looking for quick pleasure.”
“We love our customers, and they support local businesses,” Parab said. “If there’s a shady business that’s right next to you, it can keep customers from coming in.”
Smiley-Kaliff, who has an office nearby, said he “sort of cringed” when he first saw the massage business that replaced the White Glove Maid Service, which has moved to a San Antonio address. But he said there “hasn’t been a bust, shooting or violence.”
The former mayor is not opposed to venues “that may cater to adult entertainment” in Castle Hills.
Lucy Wang who specializes in acupressure, a traditional Chinese pain relief technology that applies pressure to specific points in the body, demonstrates the on her husband Ralph Philippi on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Wang and Philippi co-own Amazing Foot Spa in San Antonio.
“But they should be licensed as such, zoned as such, and people should have a clear understanding of what they’re walking into,” he said. “They should be truthful about who they are and what they’re offering for sale.”
Though many may think of “massage parlors” as a throwback to the 1980s, there have been high-profile raids resulting in prostitution arrests statewide, including one in Lubbock in November, another in the Houston suburb of Spring in January and a third in Odessa in April.
Since 2020, the state has required massage establishments and schools to post signage in English, Spanish, Korean and Mandarin concerning services and assistance available to victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Massage therapists must post a license, visible to the public, with a current photo.
Although massage businesses are regulated by the state, officials in Dallas and other cities that have struggled with compliance have called for state legislation authorizing municipalities to provide another layer of regulation.
Critics have said the state has burdened licensed massage therapists with more regulations in the past 15 years on training hours, fingerprinting and criminal background checks, while failing to stop bad actors who obtain fake licenses from diploma mills and operate storefronts for money laundering and tax evasion.
Some charge that state laws allow businesses that engage in nudity and sexual contact to pose as legitimate massage establishments.
Smiley-Kaliff said he’s not aware of any illicit activity in Castle Hills. He believes at least an update and clarification of legal definitions is needed.
“I don’t think anybody is reacting to legitimate massage therapists that are licensed by the state,” he said. “The appearance of certain storefronts that truly don’t even appear to be of that level of legitimacy, so to speak, is troubling.”
Ralph Philippi, co-owner of Amazing Foot Spa, which opened early this year, supports stronger local ordinances.
“They need to tighten the regulations. They really do,” Philippi said.
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Lucy Wang who specializes in acupressure, a traditional Chinese pain relief technology that applies pressure to specific points in the body, demonstrates the on her husband Ralph Philippi on Saturday, June 25th, 2022. Wang and Philippi co-own Amazing Foot Spa in San Antonio.
Speaking in general terms, he doesn’t believe all the businesses are operating within state and local laws. But he’s reluctant to say any are engaged in the sex business.
“It’s a really sticky wicket in trying to prove any of it. If you just outright … try to point the finger at somebody, you could end up in serious trouble yourself,” he said. “More undercover visits from police officers would do a whole lot of good.”
Philippi and his wife, Lucy Wang, closed their former location in Boerne and opened in Castle Hills after moving to San Antonio. Wang has more than 20 years’ experience in reflexology and traditional Chinese acupressure — disciplines that apply force to feet, hands and other points of the body and don’t require a massage therapy license.
“The massage business has gotten a really bad name, and we like to distance ourselves from that,” Philippi said. “It’s a different type of business. My wife specializes in pain relief, and they specialize in comfort.”
If the Legislature decides to regulate reflexology, as it has discussed in the past, Philippi and Wang will welcome the new rules and continue practicing in Castle Hills — a “great community” with little crime, he said.
Scott Huddleston is a veteran staff writer, covering Bexar County government, local history, preservation and the Alamo. He has been a reporter at the Express-News since 1985, covering a variety of issues, including public safety, criminal justice, flooding, transportation, military, water and the environment. He is a native Texan and longtime San Antonian.