ROCKINGHAM – Rockin’ Tan has been making waves in Richmond County since its opening on September 30, especially with its new and various types of tanning beds.
On Tuesday, the family-owned business had its grand opening and became recognized as an official business member by the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber membership director Seth Allen opened up the ceremony by thanking everyone for being there and introduced the business to those in attendance. He then turned it over to Chuck Cobb, 2017 Chairman of the Chamber.
This was Cobb’s last official ribbon cutting as the chairman of the board of directors, so he stated that it would always have special meaning for him.
Cobb continued by welcoming the Rockin’ Tan’s owners, the Ruperd family, to the Chamber. He mentioned how active the Chamber is and how excited he is to have new members. Further explaining how active the Chamber is, he went on to list opportunities for the businesses to come out such as Connections after Five and Business Expos.
“If you want to get involved, there’s lots to do,” Cobb commented. “There are committees that you can volunteer to serve on and many things to attend, so we look forward to having a relationship with you this upcoming year and for many years to come!”
The floor was then John Garner’s, who serves as a part of the Richmond County Board of Commissioners.
Garner automatically made note of all of the good things that have been happening at at Rockin’ Tan.
“It is a pleasure to see the youth and energy that we are seeing here today,” Garner said. “The colors are vibrant, fresh, and light. That also says something about the personalities, too.”
He continued with hopefulness saying that he thinks Rockin’ Tan has, “all the ingredients for success,” due to the establishment they have and their relationships with other establishments in the area.
Garner wrapped up his speech by wishing the family business success and mentioning that later on he wants to hear about the benefits of tanning.
It was then that co-owner of Rockin’ Tan, Brittany Ruperd, spoke on behalf of the business.
Ruperd, native of Richmond County, thanked everyone for being there to support their small, local business. She gave a special thanks to her co-owners and business partners Dan and Ronda Ruperd.
“If it had not been for them, and their vision for this business and for us to have a place that we can all work together as a family, we wouldn’t be here today,” Ruperd said of her partners.
She continued to explain the process that it took to get to where they are now, noting that the purchase of the actual space was made in June 2017 from Jimmy Capps.
“This is our place,” Ruperd said. “This is where we are going to be for a long time.”
She went on to talk of the renovations made to the space to update it so that it looks fresh and vibrant for the customers.
“We really wanted to create a family-oriented, welcoming environment for the community and the county,” Ruperd said.
Along with a fresh coat of paint and new flooring, came renovations to the actual tanning beds themselves.
“We have some new beds in, and in the existing beds we got brand new bulbs in,” Ruperd stated. “And new acrylics, which is the part you lay on. We really just wanted to make sure that everything was new and updated, and that when people came in they were going to get a good tan.”
Another addition to the tanning salon is the conversion of two of the beds to red-light therapy beds. Ruperd listed many of the benefits of red-light therapy, which is the type of therapy Garner hinted at earlier in the ceremony.
“They are supposed to be good for arthritis, firming your skin, and so many other benefits that we thought would be good for this county,” Ruperd noted.
Ruperd let it be known that the red-light therapy beds are something they are very excited to have and want anyone who has questions about this type of therapy to come to them and ask.
“Overall, our goal was to create a welcoming environment for everyone to come and relax for a little while after you get off work and spend some time with us here,” Ruperd closed with. “We are excited to get to work and see where this business takes us.”
After the ribbon cutting, attendees hung around and got to see first-hand the different types of tanning products and beds the business had. The Ruperds were very kind and welcomed all questions graciously. They were very helpful and so very appreciative of all of the support.
Rockin’ Tan is located on 490 Wiregrass Road in Rockingham. They are open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To contact the business, call 910-557-5319 or go to rockintan.com for pictures, details about what it offers and a list of its specials. It also has a Facebook page where all sales, specials, and details about their salon can be found.
