Eviction Notice Hits Phenix Salon Suites Tenants in Cary Despite Paid Rent

Nearly 30 independent beauty professionals at Phenix Salon Suites on Parkside Main Street in Cary, North Carolina, found an eviction notice on their door in early December — despite tenants saying they paid their roughly $1,100 monthly rent on time.

The notice landed at the worst possible moment: peak holiday booking season, when stylists and colorists typically generate the revenue that carries them through slower winter months. Several tenants have already closed their suites and relocated. Others are waiting to see whether Phenix Salon Franchising can reach a deal with the building's landlord.

Marie Duke, a long-time stylist at the location, discovered the structural problem only after the notice appeared. She called the man she had been paying her rent to — and learned he was not the property owner but the site manager.

"We always thought that he owned it," Duke said. "He says that his hands are tied because he turns the rent money in. Apparently somebody above him has not been paying it."

The arithmetic is what puzzles tenants most. At roughly $1,100 per suite per month, the building's combined rent totals approximately $14,000. With close to 30 businesses operating inside, tenants say the math should have covered the landlord many times over — even if several occupants fell behind.

"There are almost 30 businesses in this building. That's more than enough to cover the rent," said Justin Burr, a hairstylist at the salon. "So we don't understand how since June the rent has not been paid. Not one penny."

Burr's timeline indicates the landlord has received nothing for at least six months, through the fall of 2025.

Franchise distancing

When WRAL contacted the site manager, the response came instead from the president and CEO of Phenix Salon Franchising. The CEO said the Cary location operates independently of the franchise parent and that the franchisor is working with the landlord toward a resolution.

That distinction matters for suite tenants across the booth-rental sector. Phenix Salon Suites locations run on a franchise model in which individual operators — many of them sole proprietors with no corporate legal backing — sign agreements with a local franchise entity, not with the national brand. When money stops flowing to the property owner, the eviction action lands on the individual licensees holding scissors, not on the corporate structure above them.

What it means for working professionals

For the stylists, estheticians and other operators inside the Cary building, the exposure is threefold. First, the obvious: loss of suite space during December, when holiday appointments and gift-card sales typically peak. Second, the client-relationship cost — relocating mid-season risks breaking the walk-in and referral patterns that suite businesses depend on. Third, the cash already spent: rent paid to an intermediary that never reached the landlord may be difficult to recover, depending on lease terms and what remedies North Carolina law provides.

The case is also a cautionary tale for the broader suite-rental market, which has expanded rapidly as stylists leave commission salons for independence. Tenants who pay a manager rather than a verified property owner often have no direct proof of payment reaching the landlord, and no direct lease relationship to invoke if the middle layer fails. Verifying who holds title to the building, and requesting written acknowledgment of rent receipt from the actual landlord, are the low-cost controls that this situation suggests.

Some tenants at the Cary location have already voted with their shears, shutting their suites and moving. The remainder are betting on the franchisor's negotiation with the landlord — a process with no announced deadline and no guarantee.

The next data point to watch: whether Phenix Salon Franchising and the landlord reach a settlement before the eviction proceeds through North Carolina court, and how many of the roughly 30 businesses are still standing when it does.