Warm up those chilly days, catch some rays at Club Tan

Do the gray and gloomy skies have you feeling down? Then Kirk and Stephanie Payne have a place that can turn those winter blues into a golden tan.

In the River City Center along Highway 41, the Paynes opened their second Club Tan store in the area last May, offering North Idahoans a toasty respite from the cold and cloud-covered winter days. The Coeur d’Alene couple also recently celebrated a one-year anniversary at their original Club Tan in Hayden.

“With all the gray skies we have in North Idaho, the UVB does make you feel better,” said Stephanie Payne about the bed’s sun-simulating benefits. Club Tan offers six state-of-the-art Wolff tanning beds with adjustable UVB-free facial tanners, a posh sitting area with a wall-mounted plasma TV and an assortment of lotions to help bring out any level of tan-ness in minutes a day.

When exposed to the tanning booth’s minute amount of artificial ultraviolet radiation, which emit lower doses of the skin-darkening UVB rays than natural sunlight, it causes a feel-good effect due to the body’s release of endorphins and creation of vitamin D, the owners said.

“It helps some disorders, like depression,” said Kirk Payne, who is also vice president of the several Aspen Sound stores spread across the Northwest. Though it’s not a prescribed medication, he added a little tanning bed exposure, whether habitually or a few times a month, is a great way to feel better until the snow melts.

And with spring time and sunny days several calendar pages away, Club Tan presents an affordable way to prepare for the upcoming swimsuit season, Stephanie Payne said.

With the New Year kicking off what is typically the tanning bed busy season, which runs through June, the owners said Club Tan’s business has steadily grown since last year’s grand opening, with customers ranging in age from 14 up to 70. Though they hadn’t planned on expanding with a new store so soon, they said that once the River City Center’s owner came to them with the opportunity, they couldn’t pass it up.

“They wanted a good mix of clients and thought this would be a good fit,” Kirk Payne said, referring to the blend of different businesses the developer wanted to attract to the Highway 41-Mullan Avenue intersection. “This (area) feels like it’s going to have huge future growth.”

With the couple’s past business experience, which included Stephanie’s know-how from other tanning salons and Kirk’s years with Aspen Sound, they decided to open their own place rather than go with a franchised company.

With two Club Tans up and running, the Paynes said their goal is for people to come in and experience what they have to offer compared to other similar businesses. “We’re pretty competitive with our prices, but we also have the newest technology and newest beds in town,” Stephanie Payne said.

Club Tan offers three bed types that take 12 to 20 minutes per session, with specials that include a buy-one-tan, get-one-free that start at $9, a monthly unlimited tan package from about $40 to $50, depending on the bed, and a three-month’s unlimited deal for about $90.

On top of the high-tech beds and array of oils and lotions, Club Tan has a welcoming atmosphere and friendly and knowledgeable staff that add to the overall experience, said customer Rahshel Holte. That combination has kept Holte coming back to Club Tan since the first store opened.

“It’s very clean. (Stephanie’s) got all the latest beds and lotions, and I just feel comfortable there,” Holte said. “I think you need a little bit of sun to brighten up your day, and that’s the perfect way to do it.”