The storefront of the empty Rite Aid in Beacon.
Photo Credit: A Little Beacon Blog

Much to the disappointment of some Beacon High Schoolers, Spirit Halloween is not popping up in Beacon’s Rite Aid, a contact at Spirit Halloween has confirmed. The list is here, and the stores that have locations booked begin opening in August and September. Beacon is not on the list.

Walgreens was the next rumor, but a person familiar with the property confirmed that Walgreens is also - so far - not confirmed. “The landlord definitely wants something good for the community. Hopefully a store like Walgreens would be interested.”

People in Beacon expressed longing for the Spirit Halloween fantasy. “How fun would that be!” said one resident. “Oh, for Beacon? Spirit Halloween would be perfect for Beacon, who goes all out for Halloween,” said another resident while shopping at the Beacon Farmer’s Market.

One younger person reflected: “I’ve heard there is an unspoken rule that stores like Spirit Halloween can’t open here.” Another teenager said: “I would have loved to work there.”

A Dunkin’ Donuts rumor keeps resurfacing - that one is opening in Beacon. The location on Rte 52 that was proposed to open with a drive-thru is so far not opening, since Beacon banned drive-thrus in response to the Healey family wanting to open one on their property next to Carvana and Lanks Auto, a source familiar with the property confirmed to ALBB. “I wish,” they said. “But maybe there’s one opening in another location.”

Readers who have information on another location in Beacon, please let ALBB know so that we can pursue your source. Otherwise, the 23 other coffee shops in Beacon will suffice!

The Highlands Current published an explosive article this weekend with implications that two massage parlors in the region: Rose Eliza Spa in Beacon, and Good Life Wellness in Cold Spring - both located on the Main Streets of their towns - were listed on “adults-only” websites “with language that implies prostitution.”

The newspaper said that both destinations were “advertised” at websites such as LoveEscort, Bedpage, Rubsguide and XEscortHub. A Little Beacon Blog has not verified these ads to see them, or if they are placed by the business owner or if others listed them for various reasons.

The Highlands Current stated: “The Rose Eliza Spa promised in an ad that it had ‘new sweet girls’ who are ‘open-minded’ and will ‘treat you specially.’ One post features a video clip of a woman making hand motions that suggest manual sex. The spa’s website does not contain similar language or images and provides a price list for standard treatments and reflexology.”

As of today, the website that is listed in Google for Rose Eliza Spa, https://rosespabeacon.com/our-pricing/, says that its domain has expired. ALBB has not verified which domain the newspaper cited. The storefront decal clearly promotes couples massage, which has been the same picture since they opened in 2024, and the interior has rooms for single beds and double, for those who enjoy side-by-side couples massages, which is common in any high-end spa offering massage.

The space for Rose ELiza Spa, renovating in February 2024 after the $2.3 million sale of the building from Susan Antalek Pagones of Antalek & Moore to Robert Arzanipour of Rockridgegroup Custom Homes. The yellow Permit was in the window issued from the City of Beacon.
Photo Credit: A Little Beacon BLog

Rose Eliza Spa incorporated in October 2023, according to state records cited by the Highlands Current. By February 2024, Rose Eliza Spa was under construction, renovating the space after the building sold to Robert Arzanipour of Rockridgegroup Custom Homes, a Long Island-based luxury development firm who bought the generationlly owned one-story building for $2.3 million from Susan Antalek Pagones, co-owner of the insurance agency, Antalek and Moore, who after the sale moved several blocks down to the new 4-story building across from the DMV on Main Street.

The sale of the building displaced longtime businesses including the original Roma Nova (the financial distress of which prompted their selling to new owners), Batt’s Florist, the barber (who moved to Hyde Park) and Community Action Partnership for Dutchess County which serviced the Beacon community with a food pantry, professional clothing connections, food stamp application, etc. Community Action Partnership for Dutchess County was able to re-locate within Beacon to continue serving the community, but not without a scramble.

The Highlands Current reported that they contacted the owner of the building about the ads in April. The newspaper reported that the building owner responded at that time: “Thank you for bringing these ads to my attention. I had never seen these posts before and am appalled. It goes against our lease terms, and we will be taking immediate action.” The newspaper said they followed up additional times and did not receive a response. Their followup article published on August 1, 2025.

The newspaper reported that in the summer of 2024, “a user on AMP Reviews, a website in which men discuss their experiences at ‘Asian massage parlors,’ requested ‘any intel on [the new] Rose Spa in Beacon (Eliza St)? I see them advertising on Skip the Games,’ another escort directory,” the newspaper said. ALBB has not verified these statements.

The Highlands Current stated that they called Rose Eliza Spa, and a woman answered, who said her English was limited and asked that questions to her be sent via text. A reporter from the Highlands Current “asked who posted the online ads, she wrote: ‘We don’t know.’ She wrote that ‘the boss has returned to China’ and ‘there are only workers here.’ She added: ‘We have a regular massage [business]’ and sent photos of female customers whom she said were ‘frequent visitors.’”

A source familiar with the area said that they do not see young female employees, but do see older female employees. They also said they see mostly male customers. ALBB has confirmed that there is only one entrance into Rose Eliza Spa, and that is through the front door on Eliza Street.

Licensed massage practitioners do not text photos of their clients without their client’s consents, and those are usually on the professional’s website as a testimonial or example of practice.

The newspaper also published a review of someone on that site, which ALBB has not verified, who posted in August 2024, who “said his experience at Rose Eliza had been ‘very mechanical’ with ‘no engagement.’ A second user who posted in March said he paid $80 for a massage but left disappointed. In response, a user complained that some businesses are promoted on adult sites only ‘to get you in the door.’”

Picture of the prices mounted on the wall of ROse Eliza Spa in Beacon as of August 2025.
Photo Credit: A Little Beacon BLog

Services at Rose Eliza Spa

ALBB walked into Rose Eliza Spa on Sunday at 12pm to inquire about services. The door was open and the menu of services was posted on the wall.

A Face Cleaning is $80 and a Deep Cleaning is also $80. ALBB spoke to a female manager who spoke some English, who said that a Face Cleaning involved water, and was available at 4pm or 4:30pm later in the day.

Scraping, Cupping and Rose Fomentation are available. As are Salt Foot Rub for selections of minutes, which is common in most any Asian-run nail salon across the country.

Pictures of the rooms at Rose Eliza Spa are below (Photo Credits: A Little Beacon Blog). A service for Salt Foot Rub is listed, but there were no chairs at the time these photos were taken in 2024. Chairs are the traditional setting for which one receives a foot rub in a nail salon.

Yelp lists the Rose Eliza Spa as closing at 9pm on Sundays, but Google lists their hours being open from 9am-11pm daily. At 8:59pm Sunday evening, a soft red glow from LED lights came from inside and the door locked. The OPEN sign was off. A white doorbell is on the side of the front door.

People who frequent the area in the evenings say that they don’t usually see employees or customers walking in or out; and that one woman is usually seen cleaning the space. Servers at Paul Brady Wine across the street tell ALBB that employees of Rose Eliza Spa do come over for drinks from time to time.

In 2016, the New York Times published the article ”Nail Salon Sweeps In New York Reveal Abuses And Regulatory Challenges”, highlighting human trafficking that can go on in nail salons. While some nail salons in the Hudson Valley region are suspect of this, none have closed.

The Highlands Current stated: “Polaris, a nonprofit that works to end trafficking, says many women who work at illicit massage parlors are newly arrived from China or South Korea, carry debts or are under financial pressure, speak little or no English, have no more than a high school education and are mothers in their mid-30s to late-50s. They are controlled through debt, fear of law enforcement or deportation, shame and threats to their families, the organization says.”

The article went on to highlight salon owners who had been charged with crimes, and women who had been arrested. No men or women who patronize these establishments were mentioned in the article as having done anything wrong that made the behavior of the women in these trapped service positions criminal.

Inside of Rose Eliza Spa, which states it offers Massage, Therapeutic Massage, Reflexology Massage, is clean with faux fresh flowers on the beds, adorned with sateen pillow cases.

Said one reviewer, Daron M. on Rose Eliza Spa’s Yelp: “My words about this company feels so special to reflect my spirits I am so grateful to the staff worker is a good spiritual friend her lovely heart and her beautiful soul that I cherished her peaceful place it's saved my life to this beautiful relaxation comfortable place I supported positivity for my personal choice I made my ultimate achievement every day to this year for my experience thank you very very much:非常非常感謝 I never stop coming back: 我永遠不會停止回來.”

Support For Asian Sex Workers

While there is no proof of forced work at Rose Eliza Spa, or proof that they placed and published the ads mentioned and shown in the Highlands Current article, Red Canary Song is a group who supports. From the website of Red Canary Song:

“Red Canary Song works within our shared communities of migrant massage workers and sex workers of Asian diaspora to provide mutual aid and connection to accessible resources; create peer-led cultural and art events; and advocate through oral history, multimedia work, and policy authorship in conjunction with directly impacted workers. Our framework includes migrant justice, labor rights, PIC abolitionism, and non-hierarchical values. We center coalition building with other BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Trans GNC, and Disabled Sex Workers. We believe that full decriminalization of sex work is necessary for the safety and survival of massage workers and trafficking survivors.”

The Tenants of Red Canary Song:

No more police raids and deportations. Policing is not social work. Arrest and sentencing, even with diversion programming, is not a humane way to deliver social services.

Labor rights in our workplaces, regardless of immigration status: Freedom to openly assemble without fear, share resources, and collectively organize for better wages and working conditions

Nothing about us without us. Respect and dignified livelihood for all sex workers and migrant workers.