A plan to turn a vacant Old Town Keller building into a row of salon suites and a coffee or ice cream shop hit a snag Nov. 3, as the Keller City Council tabled a specific-use permit request after Council member Jarrett “Doc” Armstrong raised parking concerns. The vote on the proposal for 207 S. Elm St. is now set for the council's Nov. 17 meeting.
Applicant Brian Palfrey asked the council to approve spa uses in the building, a term the city defines to include barbershops, hair salons and nail salons, according to Community Impact. The building had previously been approved for a different concept entirely: a craft brewery and pizzeria that are no longer coming to Keller, the outlet reported. City records list Palfrey as the applicant and LA Sam Investments LLC as the property owner, per a City of Keller public hearing notice.
From Brewery to Beauty Bar
The building's history traces back to March 2025, when the council approved an economic development agreement for what was then called Keller House Collective, envisioned with a first-floor brewery and second-floor pizzeria. The city had agreed to cover the brewery's gas line and meter costs, building permit fee reimbursements, and a portion of sales and personal property taxes during its first five years, with an incentive package estimated at $72,632 and a staff analysis anticipating a 100% return on investment by the brewery's fourth year, per a city social media post cited in the outlet's reporting.
That deal fell through. City Manager Aaron Rector said he had not directly heard from the landlord or tenant about what caused the plan to collapse, but the report notes issues with the original project included parking, a second entrance and exit to the property, and installing electrical infrastructure needed for a restaurant and brewery. Applicant Gloria Palfrey said she and her husband made extensive efforts to secure another opportunity after the brewery tenant withdrew, the outlet reported.
What the New Layout Would Look Like
The reworked plan presented to council offered retail facing Elm Street alongside individual salon suites spread across the first and second floors. The anchor tenant would be a coffee or ice cream shop concept occupying 1,323 square feet with a patio facing South Elm Street, which Brian Palfrey called the “focal point of the development,” the station's report states. The rest of the first floor would hold six individual suites, a laundry room and an employee break room, while a second-floor presentation showed a barbershop with four stations and a salon spot with four more.
Palfrey said the suites could attract hairstylists, barbers, estheticians and spray-tan technicians, and that the concept would complement retail while offering opportunities for small businesses, independent professionals and retail activity. He argued 207 Elm Street could become Elm Street's flagship building and help drive future development, per the same account.
A Crowded Market and a Parking Standoff
Development Services Director Sarah Hensley told the council there are already 11 spa uses approved in Old Town Keller and an estimated 65 spa uses citywide. Palfrey countered that Keller has six other salon-suite businesses, two of which have no vacancies, and said nine total salon suites were available for rent as of the Nov. 3 meeting.
The sharpest pushback came over parking. The site plan approved in June 2023 called for just seven parking spaces and two handicap-accessible spaces, instead of the 35 spaces required by code, according to city documents cited in the reporting. Council member Jarrett “Doc” Armstrong questioned how that lot would accommodate salon operators, salon customers and retail customers at the same time. Armstrong said his nearby chiropractic office has 10 parking spaces that serve himself, his wife and one additional person, leaving just seven spaces to interchange among patients, and warned that parking at the proposed use could create problems for nearby businesses, residents and Keller Church of Christ without some kind of agreement.
Palfrey pushed back, questioning why the council approved the building's parking variance in the first place only to later raise its configuration as a reason to deny the new use. He said he considered it inconsistent to approve the arrangement and then cite it as grounds for rejection. Mayor Ross McMullin asked Palfrey to work through the building's vision, along with the parking limitations and entry-and-exit issues, directly with city staff before the item returns.
Not Keller's First Salon Standoff
This isn't the first time a Keller salon request has run into resistance. In May, the council deadlocked 3-3 on a specific-use permit for Amazing Hair Salon to reopen in Old Town Keller, a tie that caused the request to fail outright, Community Impact reported. That salon had operated at 112 W. Hill St. from June 2019 to April 2024, and opposition from both council members and public speakers centered on the abundance of salons already in the area.
Under the city's Unified Development Code updates, future spa or medical-spa applicants must obtain a specific-use permit reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Commission and the city council, according to the City of Keller. The city defines a spa as an establishment offering grooming, massage or cosmetology services performed by licensed professionals, with possible incidental retail sales allowed. Separately, the city's economic development incentive policy notes that any future incentives are evaluated and granted case by case and are not guaranteed.
For now, the fate of 207 S. Elm St. remains unresolved. The council is expected to take the matter up again at its Nov. 17 meeting, after staff and Palfrey work through the parking and access concerns raised during the Nov. 3 discussion.
