Shine Spa + Specialties

The owners of Shine day spa, the newest business to open in Carrollton Avenue’s Mid-City Market, say the luxury establishment opened in that location because of a series of “serendipitous moments.” It’s not the first time that Sandy Blum and Cindy Cocke opened a spa with that name, with hopes to cater to local New Orleans clientele. The first Shine spa opened in May 2005 in the French Quarter, and was a “hit” amongst those in the service industry, Blum says. But when Hurricane Katrina hit just two months later, their business suffered an irreparable blow. “The foot traffic just wasn’t back,” Blum explained, about the year after the storm. The business partners tried to hold on by selling products — an array of European and Brazilian lotions, oils, scrubs and salts they say are difficult to find in America — but the sales didn’t bring in enough for them to support overhead. So the business closed. About seven years later, however, opportunity arose with the construction of Mid-City Market, the 108,