Garden Grove / Central Orange County
The national beauty brands are thin in Garden Grove: European Wax Center, Massage Envy, Hand & Stone, Great Clips and Sola Salon Studios list no location in the city, and the chain operators we could confirm (Ulta and Sally Beauty) sit on Chapman Avenue near Brookhurst. So suite, wax, lash and brow concepts would not be up against those brands inside city limits, and the Brookhurst and Chapman centers are a sensible first stop. Garden Grove Boulevard between Beach and Brookhurst (the Korean District, anchored by H Mart at 8911) is the other corridor to walk for skin care and beauty users.
Population
170,964
Median HHI
$92,174
Median age
40.2
Homeownership
53.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Brookhurst Street · Harbor Boulevard · Chapman Avenue · Westminster Avenue · Garden Grove Boulevard
Specific shopping centers in Garden Grove that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
SWC Brookhurst Street at Chapman Avenue
Anchors / key tenants: CVS Pharmacy, Chuze Fitness, Citibank
Daily-needs and fitness co-tenancy with Best Choice Supermarket, El Pollo Loco, Little Caesar’s, CosmoProf, and T-Mobile. Functional cross-shop with the rest of the Brookhurst/Chapman intersection.
Garden Grove Boulevard between Beach and Brookhurst
Anchors / key tenants: Korea House BBQ Buffet, dense Korean retail and dining
North-of-Little-Saigon Korean retail and dining district. Korean BBQ, KBBQ buffets, Korean grocery, and beauty/skincare operators line Garden Grove Blvd. Cultural-fit concepts outperform generic chains here.
Chapman Avenue at Brookhurst Street
Anchors / key tenants: regional and value retail mix
Repositioned from the original 1956 Orange County Plaza. Long-running community center at the city’s most important retail intersection (Brookhurst/Chapman).
Brookhurst Street at Westminster Avenue
Anchors / key tenants: Sushi Kura, Boiling Point, The Boiling Crab
On the edge of Little Saigon, a dense Vietnamese restaurant cluster (Sushi Kura, Boiling Point, The Boiling Crab, Banh Mi Che Cali, Blackball, Yogurtland) at the busiest intersection of Brookhurst and Westminster.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Garden Grove rents. These are publicly visible beauty and wellness space businesses currently trading in the market.
Ulta Beauty, Pavilion Plaza West
9844 Chapman Avenue, Garden Grove, CA 92841
Ulta's only Garden Grove store, with an in-store hair salon. Ulta's directory names the center Pavilion Plaza West, and it sits next door by address to Sprouts at 9848 Chapman, which Sprouts labels Chapman and Brookhurst.
Sally Beauty #645
9925 Chapman Avenue, Garden Grove, CA 92841
Beauty supply store near Brookhurst and Chapman and the only Garden Grove store in Sally Beauty's locator. Useful as a sign that licensed stylists and nail techs shop this trade area.
01
Hair, nail and skin care are by right: Table 1 of Section 9.16.020.030 (as restated in the July 8, 2025 Zoning Amendment A-042-2024(B) ordinance) lists Barber/Beauty Shop as permitted in O-P, C-1, C-2 and C-3, and Tanning Parlor as permitted in C-1 and C-2. The code defines a barber/beauty shop as cosmetology services including hair care, nail care and skin care. Parking under Section 9.16.040.150 is 1 space per 200 sq ft for personal service.
02
Massage is tightly limited: Table 1 allows a Massage Establishment only in C-2, and only with a conditional use permit. Section 9.16.020.050.AP adds a 1,000-foot minimum distance from any other massage establishment, requires the entrance to face and be visible from a principal, major or primary arterial (never a residential street), and requires every person giving massage on site to hold an operator's permit from the Police Chief under Chapter 5.12, with hours capped by that chapter.
03
Watch the massage definition: Section 9.04.060 treats any business where massage services are provided as a massage establishment, whatever it calls itself, and says massage may only be offered in an approved massage establishment, a gym or spa with a massage CUP, or a spa inside a hotel of at least 150 rooms. A nail, facial or lash studio that adds massage would need the C-2 CUP, so keep massage off the menu unless the site qualifies.
04
Tattoo and permanent makeup: Table 1 lists Tattoo, General as permitted only in C-2, and Tattoo, Facial as incidental in O-P and C-1 and permitted in C-2. The city's 2012 mixed-use ordinance also bars a tattoo parlor within 1,000 feet of another in the GGMU zones and points to Title 6, Chapter 38 for tattoo operating rules. Ask Planning in writing which category a microblading or brow studio falls under.
05
Garden Grove Boulevard mixed-use sites: in the city's posted 2012 Chapter 9.18 table, Barber/Beauty Shop is permitted in every mixed-use zone, but a Tanning Parlor in the GGMU zones needs a conditional use permit and must be 1,000 feet from another tanning parlor, and gyms or spas with massage over 1,500 sq ft are conditional. We did not see a stand-alone massage establishment row in that table, so confirm with Planning before leasing a massage use on the boulevard.
06
State licensing: the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology ties the establishment license to the exact address, including the suite number, so a move, a new owner or a partner change means a new license ($50 application fee on form 1020). Before opening, the shop must meet Board requirements for toilets, hot and cold running water, hand washing and potable drinking water. CAMTC certification is voluntary under state law and CAMTC does not license businesses, so the Garden Grove CUP and Police Chief permits are the establishment-level approvals for massage.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.