A 52-suite Sola Salon Studios flagship is headed for Fort Worth’s Westcliff Shopping Center, with pre-leasing now open to independent hairstylists, estheticians, nail technicians, and barbers ahead of a targeted Spring 2027 grand opening. The location sits less than half a mile from Texas Christian University, placing it inside one of the city’s busiest retail corridors for foot traffic and student clientele.
The project was first reported by WhatNow, which confirmed the Westcliff studio will mark franchisee Shay Stevenson’s ninth Sola Salon Studios location. Stevenson, a Denton, Texas, native who became a Sola franchisee in 2015, said the Westcliff project represents an investment in Fort Worth’s beauty and wellness community, according to the same report. He also encouraged beauty and wellness professionals to reach out early to reserve a space before suites fill.
Sola Salon Studios already operates 16 locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and more than 700 nationwide, per WhatNow’s reporting. The company, founded in Denver in 2004 by Stratton Smith and Matt Briger, pioneered the turnkey salon suite model that now serves more than 20,000 beauty professionals across North America, according to Sola Salon Studios. Entrepreneur magazine named Sola the No. 1 franchise in the Salon Suites category on its 2026 Franchise 500 ranking, marking the brand’s seventh consecutive year on that national list, as reported by Usearch.
A Historic Shopping Center Gets a Fresh Chapter
Westcliff Shopping Center itself carries a deep local history. The surrounding neighborhood was originally master-planned between 1945 and 1965 after builder J.E. Foster purchased the land and established the original Westcliff Shopping Center in 1945, according to 6th Ave Homes. The community also includes Westcliff Elementary School, which opened in 1954, alongside historic single-family ranch homes…