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A health inspector visited Head 2 Toe Massage and Spa on Route 23 in March, when all non-essential businesses were ordered closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to paperwork released by NorthJersey.com.
The inspector found a refrigerator full of food, and ordered the spa's new owner Lihua Ding, of Queens, NY, to close immediately, the outlet reports.
In June, Ding paid the license fee and submitted paperwork for the facility. Ding paid for the license fee that month, but couldn't open by appointment-only until she passed inspection.
Two health officials returned the following month and found the parlor was still operating without a license.
Head 2 Toe was issued 14 violations including operating without a license from the town, performing a massage on a patient without state licensure, failure to submit a disinfecting plan to the health department and more, documents show.
The previous owner's license was posted on the wall but was not transferrable, documents show.
Ding paid $600 in fines, then applied for a massage parlor license. That was denied by the Township Council in September. Ding's attorney, A. Michael Rubin, asked its members to reconsider their decision five weeks later, NorthJersey.com reports.
The outlet quoted Councilman Joseph Schweighardt saying: "It appears to me that you feel not operating with a license, and then paying a fine, is simply the normal cost of doing business."
Rubin says Ding is considering an appeal of the township's action in State Superior Court.
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