Construction equipment sits idle at the 6,000-square-foot, 33-unit office building being built by California-based Phenix Salon Suites to cater to “lifestyle professionals” at 1684 Brianna Court near Love & Warden Eye Care Center as rain falls on the site on Thursday, April 6, 2023. (Grace Ramey/grace.ramey@bgdailynews.com)

Growth along Bowling Green’s Gary Farms Boulevard is showing no signs of a slowdown.

In two building projects now underway, Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General Corporation is constructing the latest of its Popshelf-branded stores near Home Depot at Gary Farms Boulevard and Westpark Drive and California-based Phenix Salon Suites is building a 6,000-square-foot, 33-unit office building catering to “lifestyle professionals” at 1684 Brianna Court near Love & Warden Eye Care Center.

The Popshelf brand, described in a Dollar General news release as a “differentiated retail store,” was introduced in the Nashville market in 2020 and has grown rapidly.

In introducing the brand in 2020, the discount retailer described Popshelf as being aimed at “wealthier shoppers who appreciate a good deal.” Popshelf stores feature such items as home décor, beauty items, cleaning supplies and party goods, with the majority of items costing $5 or less.

Dollar General now operates approximately 140 Popshelf locations and 40 store-within-a-store Popshelf locations combining the differentiated brand and DG Market offerings. Bowling Green is already home to a store-within-a-store location at the DG Market on River Place Avenue near Porter Pike.

According to a news release, Dollar General plans to open the new Bowling Green Popshelf store this summer and employ 15 people. The company plans to operate approximately 1,000 total Popshelf stores by the end of the 2025 fiscal year.

Like Popshelf, Phenix Salon Suites is a new concept for Bowling Green that has been growing rapidly in other markets.

Building permit records show that Sunbelt Construction is putting up a $750,000 commercial building, and local Phenix Salon Suites franchisee Doug Cox said the building will house 33 suites for such professionals as hair stylists, massage therapists, estheticians and other “lifestyle professionals.”

Cox explained that Phenix has tapped into the “shared space” concept that allows budding entrepreneurs to launch their businesses without the usual overhead.

“In the past, if a beautician wanted to go out on their own, they would need to sign a lease for three to five years,” Cox said. “This does away with that. They can rent week to week, but typically they rent for a year.

“We do all the housekeeping and maintenance, and we provide an employee area for lunch breaks. You get all the benefits of owning your own business without the overhead. It’s a cool concept.”

The concept launched by entrepreneur Gina Rivera in 2012 may be cool, but it has experienced red-hot growth. According to Cox, Phenix now has more than 300 locations nationwide.

That number will continue to grow if Cox has his way. He already launched a 34-unit Phenix Salon Suites location in Hendersonville, and now he’s aiming to have his Bowling Green location open in September.

“I bought 15 franchises for Kentucky and Tennessee,” said Cox, founder and CEO of the Providence Groups of White House, Tennessee. “We built our first one in Hendersonville, and all 34 suites are full.”

Cox expects similar success in Bowling Green.

“We anticipate having about half the suites sold before we open,” he said. “We believe it’ll be a great thing for the professionals and their customers in Bowling Green.”