Hunter and Julie Nguyen have officially opened the doors to their nail salon AJ Nails in Evergreen. The couple says they are slowly growing their business after renovating the former Charlie Wong restaurant.  

They opened the salon after Charlie Wong Restaurant closed in September of 2023. Hunter said they have family connections with owner Charlie Trinh, who operated the restaurant there for 27 years.  

When Nguyen and his wife decided to open their own business in the space, they first considered continuing the restaurant but opted to focus all their efforts on doing nails, since Evergreen doesn’t have a dedicated nail salon. 

"I want to keep working on in here and maybe one day open a food truck over there,” Nguyen said. “But we wanted to do something new.” 

Trinh opened Saigon Garden on U.S. 93 in Kalispell in 2011 after earning enough at his Evergreen location to bring more family members from Vietnam to the U.S., according to a 2011 Daily Inter Lake article. A Facebook post from Charlie Wong last fall said that a decision was made to close the location after the building’s owners wanted to sell.  

Ngyuen said it took six months to renovate the building, which included a near complete redo of the interior with new floors and electrical. They also want to renovate the outside but haven’t yet due to contractor availability.  

The space is clean and modern-looking, with large comfortable chairs for customers to prop up their feet and relax while Nguyen gives pedicures. They are offering manicures, pedicures and waxing, with Nguyen bringing prior experience from another shop. He said the goal is to create a relaxing experience for their customers in a nice, clean environment.  

So far, that’s reflected in the business’s first Yelp reviews, which have all been five stars. One reviewer said it was a “beautiful, super clean space” and that the pedicure was one of the best she’s gotten in Kalispell. Another reviewer said they stopped in as they were just opening and loved the pedicure so much she bought a gift certificate for her child’s tutor as a present.  

Nguyen and his wife Julie are also originally from Vietnam but have lived in the valley for more than a decade after moving here from Seattle. He said they wanted to live somewhere more rural to raise their children. 

So far, AJ Nails has been open for two months, but aren’t doing much advertising yet due to their constraints on staff — it’s only Nguyen and his wife that currently work there, he said. 

“We try to hire more people to work with us, but it’s not a good time right now. It’s not easy to find people stay with us, they stay a few months and leave ...  they try to find a place to live but the rent is very high,” Nguyen said.  

That means their biggest challenge is seeing customers when they come in, so they are mostly working off scheduled visits. He said they’ve invested in high quality polishes and equipment for their customers, which also contributes to financial constraints when hiring. 

But, while in the early days of their business, Nguyen is primarily focused on providing a good customer experience.  

"When they come in, I want to make sure they feel happy and relaxed here. I don't want to rush the customer, I want to do it different,” Nguyen said.  

AJ Nails is open 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. To schedule an appointment, call 406-607-2335.  

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.