Becoming profitable may be the rub

by Ilana DeBare
SFGate.com

The San Francisco man who is considered the father of chair massage has a new mission - building a chain of storefront businesses that he hopes will become the Starbucks of massage.

David Palmer brought the then-novel benefit of workplace massage to Apple Computer in 1984 and designed the first massage chair in 1986.

Now he's started a company called Zubio that could change the business model of chair massage by creating a high-profile brand with a standardized customer experience across many retail stores.

Palmer and co-founder Sam Keller have been operating a pilot store in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria since August. Their goal is to make a 10-minute bodywork break as familiar to average Americans as a low-fat, low-foam pumpkin latte.

"Our intention is to take something that has been a luxury service and make it available to the broadest number of people as possible," said Palmer.

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