On the nook of Crown Heights and Mattress-Stuy, wellness seems like a curated retail shelf, a spiced floor rib-eye burger, and the candy silence of a non-public facial. For over a decade, Nilea Alexander has constructed that imaginative and prescient — first with Café Rue Dix, then Marché Rue Dix, and now, with an area for full-service magnificence and wellness companies.
“It wasn’t a lot about what I used to be going to be doing once I opened,” she mentioned, “as a lot as what I used to be going to be offering. I knew I wished to supply an atmosphere — a group atmosphere — one thing that was actually cool.” The objective was to create an area rooted in Brooklyn, formed by tradition, and constructed for folks of shade — the place good vibes and good service weren’t mutually unique. A spot the place everyone seems to be welcome, and Black of us can really feel cared for with out having to elucidate themselves.
Over time, the imaginative and prescient expanded — naturally. From classic garments to private care merchandise to nail companies and facials, every addition was pushed by each creativity and group want. Throughout the pandemic, whereas many companies shuttered, Nilea pivoted. “Adaptability is what I am going to say was our savior,” she mentioned. “The second they mentioned, ‘Oh, you may eat exterior,’ folks had been constructing pickup home windows. You needed to transfer actually quick. And that’s form of what we did.”
Photograph by Bertram Knight.
Nilea is aware of her store has one thing for everybody — from skincare to classic belts to housewares — however when she expanded into wellness companies, she had a selected buyer in thoughts. “She desires good high quality service. She would not need to should compromise on good high quality service as a result of she’s in her neighborhood,” Nilea mentioned.
That readability formed the best way she constructed out her spa and salon: skilled, lovely and rooted locally it serves. No shortcuts. No watered-down expertise. Simply care, achieved proper.
For herself, Nilea describes wellness as about intentionality and presence. “Wellness is the act of selecting to take care of your self,” she mentioned. That may imply doing her full skincare routine after an extended day, carving out ten minutes to maneuver her physique, or — ideally — getting her hair shampooed after which having fun with a spiced floor rib-eye burger in a non-public salon suite. “Meals is my communication. It is my love language. It is my wellness.”
But it surely’s not nearly companies — it’s about being seen. “Black folks, you discovered you. Welcome residence,” Nilea mentioned. In a metropolis the place luxurious usually comes with a aspect of erasure, her house insists on consolation with out code-switching. To stroll in, be greeted by somebody who understands your lived expertise, and never have to elucidate your pores and skin, your hair, or your presence — that’s a type of wellness too. Belonging, Nilea reminds us, is a fundamental want. And at Marché Rue Dix, it’s constructed into the ambiance.
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