A national medical spa franchise is setting up shop in Queen Creek next month, with its first Arizona location opening Nov. 11 at The Switchyard, the mixed-use development along Ellsworth Loop Road. A second location is planned for Scottsdale in 2027, making Arizona the 21st state for a brand that has been expanding aggressively across the country.
VIO Med Spa is entering the state through two signed franchise agreements in the Phoenix metro area, according to a release from PR Newswire. The Queen Creek spa will be owned by Cynthia and Jeff Ballantyne, while the Scottsdale project is being led by another husband-and-wife team, William Grambley and Katherine Barton. The release describes the expansion as being driven by two ownership teams who bring healthcare leadership, consulting and franchise experience to the brand.
Ryan Rao, VIO's chief development officer, said the Phoenix metro area can support a substantial VIO presence and that the new owners bring experience building and leading businesses, per the same release. The Queen Creek spa will be run day-to-day by a local team that includes a spa manager, nurse practitioner injectors and estheticians, while the Ballantynes will handle strategic direction and ownership oversight. Cynthia Ballantyne said the couple has built a local team to lead daily operations, supported by VIO's training, clinical infrastructure and operational resources.
Who's Behind the Two New Spas
Jeff Ballantyne brings more than 30 years of franchise ownership experience to the Queen Creek location, the release notes. Cynthia Ballantyne previously served as west region managing director for Alera Group, where she oversaw a region generating $215 million in revenue and employing 700 people, and she continues to run an independent consulting practice in employee benefits and risk management.
In Scottsdale, Grambley is a Navy veteran with nearly two decades of healthcare leadership experience, including more than 10 years at CVS Health. He most recently served as CEO of healthcare AI company AllazoHealth through its 2025 acquisition by AssistRx. Barton, who was born and raised in Scottsdale, has more than 20 years of experience in medical billing, coding and real estate. Grambley said the pair plans to apply that experience within VIO's established franchise system to build the Scottsdale business.
Inside The Switchyard Development
The Queen Creek spa will sit inside The Switchyard, a 10-acre mixed-use project that combines multifamily housing with dining and retail space, according to the development's own site, switchyardaz.com. The project is being built by Creation in partnership with Horizon Real Estate Ltd. as a $120 million undertaking, as reported by AZ Big Media. Plans call for 54,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space alongside a luxury apartment community, with tenants including Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, Shake Shack and Postino already announced for the site.
The Switchyard's residential count has been described differently across sources — the development's own website lists 206 luxury multifamily units, while AZ Big Media's coverage cites a 215-residence apartment community, and the relationship between those two figures has not been explained.
A Fast-Growing Franchise Chases National Scale
VIO Med Spa entered 2026 operating 65 locations across 20 states, with more than 175 territories open, sold or actively in development, the PR Newswire release states. The company signed 19 new franchise owners in the first nine months of 2026 alone, and its growth is backed by Freeman Spogli as a strategic growth partner. The brand, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, also debuted at No. 373 on the 2026 Franchise Times Top 400 this year.
Beyond Arizona, VIO has been stacking up new markets: a three-unit agreement in greater Charleston, South Carolina; its first New York City agreement in Queens; a planned Richmond-area location in Midlothian, Virginia; and a new franchise owner who acquired two Dallas-area locations and signed for a future site in Prosper, Texas. The company has also rolled out ClubVio, a membership model meant to build recurring revenue through repeat visits, alongside a next-generation store design with a smaller footprint intended to lower development costs for new owners.
The Arizona debut arrives amid broader momentum for medical spas nationally. Health and medical franchise systemwide sales rose 10.9 percent in 2025, according to the 2026 Franchise Times report cited in a separate PR Newswire release. Nationally, the number of medical spas jumped from 8,899 to 10,488 in 2023 alone, and one 2026 industry estimate projects the U.S. could reach roughly 13,000 med spas by year's end, according to WFTV. Average revenue per location reached $1.4 million in 2023, the same report notes, as demand for injectables, laser treatments and skin rejuvenation services continues to climb.
VIO's own disclosures reflect that growth. The company reported a $1.3 million average unit volume across all operating locations in 2025, with a $2.3 million top-quartile system average, based on 51 operational franchise outlets. VIO was also named the No. 1 med spa franchise in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500 for the third consecutive year in 2026, and the brand says it is actively seeking franchise partners and multi-unit operators from healthcare-adjacent businesses, hospitality, fitness and service-driven industries as it continues its westward push.
