by Keith Loria
Photos provided by Groomswell Canine Salon
hen Groomswell Canine Salon located in Carlsbad, CA, reopened in May of this year after nearly 11 months of reconstruction, one fact told owner Maria Serpa everything she needed to know about the business her family had built: Nearly every employee returned. For a salon that had placed its team at the center of every major decision, the reunion was more meaningful than any sales figure.
“To me, that spoke volumes about how they feel about this place,” Maria shares. “We have always tried to create a groomer-first salon—a place where they feel valued, where they know they have a special skill that not everyone can do, and where someone always has their back.”
That culture began early when the grooming business was just a temporary setup in the Serpa family garage, an idea that came about after changes at the salon where Maria’s daughters initially worked left the sisters without a grooming home.
“Mara and Payton asked if they could set up a little studio in the garage just to help one or two clients until those families found somewhere else to go,” Maria recalls.
The small favor quickly became a full schedule. Before long, the sisters were booked from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, and several friends had joined them to help. At one point, five groomers were working from the house as clients drove from across San Diego County.
With Maria’s 25 years in sales and marketing experience and her husband Joseph’s decades in user-experience design, the family saw an opportunity to combine the daughters’ artistry with their business and design expertise.
“I started doing all the research, and we realized this was a very sustainable business,” Maria shares. “We decided as a family to jump completely in. I cashed out my retirement, and we invested in the salon.”
The female- and Latina-owned Groomswell Inc. was founded in May 2020 with two brand pillars: craft excellence and servant leadership. The first encompasses bespoke services, holistic care and continuous education. The second determines how the company treats its people.
In practice, that means giving groomers the tools, training and authority to build lasting careers. Team members have autonomy to establish pricing based on their experience and the work involved. They can decline a risky groom, recommend another setting, or stop a service if a dog is reaching its physical or emotional limit—without fearing that management will pressure them to continue.
– Maria Serpa
“We wanted to elevate the craft of grooming and position our groomers as highly skilled tradespeople who could have sustainable career paths,” Maria shares proudly. “We said we would know we were successful when every top groomer in San Diego wanted to work for us because it was the best place to work.”
Protecting that culture shapes hiring, too. Groomswell often develops new talent from the ground up rather than relying primarily on experienced hires whose methods may not align with the salon’s approach. New team members typically begin in reception, then those pursuing grooming move into the bathing academy for at least a year before advancing to the grooming academy.
Groomswell’s groomer-first philosophy is inseparable from its dog-first approach. The polished Carlsbad salon opens into a curated boutique. Beyond it, a large picture window overlooks a quiet grooming room with six stations, each outfitted with a mirror, cabinetry and lighting. Separate bathing and drying rooms keep the styling area calmer.
“It feels like walking into an upscale hair salon,” Maria describes. “Kids come in and squeal when they see their dogs through the window. It creates transparency for the whole family because pet parents can see what grooming looks like in real time.”
That transparency begins before the appointment with Groomswell’s detailed screening process to learn about a dog’s age, health, grooming history, behavior and sensitivities. A puppy facing its first haircut, a senior nervous around dryers or a dog presenting another concern may be scheduled for a paid consultation before a full groom.
Those expectations also include time and price. Services are based on hands-on time and complexity, with the cost discussed before work begins. Each stylist works straight through on one dog at a time, and even an experienced groomer generally completes no more than five or six dogs a day.
“We are definitely not a high-volume place,” Maria shares. “We go at the dog’s pace and do whatever its skin, coat, or temperament demands. We are known for beautiful aesthetics, but it is never a one-length-all-over kind of salon.”
Early estimates suggested repairs would take four to six months. Instead, the rebuilding process stretched the shutdown to almost 11 months total. The family had been in the process of acquiring a second location, but suddenly their attention shifted from expansion to rebuilding.
Groomswell tried to remain visible through Instagram, neighborhood Facebook groups, Nextdoor and occasional text updates through its booking platform. Maria admits she wishes the company had told the rebuilding story more consistently, but the messages and construction photos reassured clients that the salon intended to return, along with its employees.
Expansion remains part of the long-term plan. The family still sees potential for another location, and Maria believes a carefully developed mobile service could help pets that struggle in a salon and clients who cannot easily travel. Still, growth will not come at the expense of the original model that brought the team back.
“The brick-and-mortar salon gives us the space to train and develop team members the way we want,” Maria shares. “We have created something very special.”
After a year that could have dismantled the business, Groomswell’s reopening offered proof that the Serpas had built more than an attractive salon. They had created a community strong enough to wait, return and begin again—together.