Late dates: Nitespa heralds trend of nighttime sessions.

WORKING at Hollywood's Beauty Bar, Julia Lolita Martin was amazed at the number of women asking for more spa services.

The bar, which offers a martini and a manicure for $10, has been a favorite of many Angelenas for more than five years. But soon the cocktail and the coat of nail polish weren't enough. Women wanted facials, pedicures and massages after work, when most spas were closed.

Martin and co-owner Michael MacLachlan have found that women, and some men, who have the most demanding schedules are often the ones who can afford $145 facials. Their signature "royal flush" treatment is a 90-minute facial focusing on massage. Blended botanicals and either hot or cold stones "take it to the limit."

"I'm a night owl," Martin said as she was getting her nails painted in Nitespa's signature colors, brown, pink and cream. "So I knew I wanted different hours." She wasn't the only one. The spa's regular hours are noon to midnight, but 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. during the summer. The late-night availability makes them a favorite for bachelorette parties.

Martin and MacLachlan opened Nitespa last August for $50,000. "That was about one-tenth of what everyone told me I needed," Martin said.

And the concept has caught on. The two owners will announce a second location, this time in a hotel, sometime in fall. They're also exploring an investment opportunity to turn Nitespa into a chain.

Lynne Walker-McNees, president of the International Spa Association said spas with later hours are "absolutely going to be a visible trend."

People are trying to squeeze in as much as they can within a day," she said.

"Spas are opening earlier in the day, too. So the days are getting longer for us to fit in everything we have to do within that period of time. My time may be 6 a.m. Yours may be 10 p.m. And spas are going to accommodate that. They'll have to."

The spa industry, now valued at $11 billion in the U.S., has experienced explosive growth in recent years. In fact, spas are now the fourth-biggest leisure industry, ahead of theme parks and movie theaters in revenues, but behind golf, cruise lines and health clubs, according to a study led by the National Golf Foundation.

MacLachlan, a New Zealand native, attributes part of their success to the homogeneity in the spa market. For a $1.4 billion industry, he said, few spa owners are seeking to differentiate themselves. "Night hours are a big hole," he said. "And most places have a very clinical atmosphere."

Martin selected an old house in Venice Beach just off Abbot Kinney for her location. She met MacLachlan at the bar one night during construction, and said he was there the next morning to start helping with the build-out. He now manages operations, while Martin is in charge of creative direction.