Owner closed Atlanta, Miami massage schools within three days of each other - Rough Draft Atlanta

[Cathy Cobbs]

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While staff was being informed of Atlanta School of Massage’s immediate closure on Sept. 5, a moving truck idled outside. (Provided by former student)

Within three days, the owner of two of the Southeast’s oldest massage schools abruptly shut down both operations, citing declining enrollment and economic factors.

In a letter dated Sept. 2, Miami-based Acupuncture and Massage College President Christy Wood announced that “due to declining enrollments and related losses, we have determined that our school cannot continue to operate and hold classes and consequently it will be closing as of today, September 2, 2024.”

On Sept. 5, Atlanta School of Massage’s staff members were called to a mandatory 9 a.m. meeting and told of its immediate closure as a moving truck idled in the parking lot, ready to dismantle the operation as soon as the news dropped.

Business records list Gabriel Gliksberg as the managing partner for both schools, operating under the entity Accelerate Career Colleges LLC in Miami and Accelerate Atlanta LLC in Atlanta.

While some of the Atlanta School of Massage equipment was sold, a significant amount of furniture, textbooks, and clothing was abandoned. In addition, sources close to the situation say the school owes its landlord, Foundry Commercial, more than $250,000 in unpaid rent.

Former employees interviewed by Rough Draft say they were forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement or they wouldn’t receive two weeks of severance pay.

Both schools had been in operation for more than 40 years. AMC was founded in 1983 by Dr. Richard Brown and touted itself as the oldest acupuncture school in Florida. ASM was also recognized as the first licensed massage school in Georgia.

ASM students say they were not informed of the closing and misled about it up to the date of its shuttering.

“I was in the night class that ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6-10 p.m. We were supposed to report to class September 4 [after a Labor Day break] and they canceled classes, citing an issue with water,” the student said. “The next morning we found out that the school had been closed.”

Dumpsters are being filled at the former Atlanta School of Massage after it closed abruptly on Sept. 5. (Photo by Cathy Cobbss)

On Sept. 23, a post on the Georgia Postsecondary Education Commission said it had been informed that the Atlanta School of Massage had been closed and that the school had entered into a “teach-out agreement” with the International School of Skin, Nailcare and Massage Therapy in Sandy Springs, which will accept completed hours and waive administration and registration fees.

However, several students said the change in venue was not entirely seamless. One student said she was supposed to complete her qualifications on Oct. 11, and now has to extend her education until mid-November.

Demise blamed on new ownership

Sources say Gliksberg, who purchased the Atlanta operation in early 2018 from founder Leticia Allen, is to blame. The atmosphere of camaraderie and caring under Allen flipped to one focused on profit margins under Gliksberg.

A former staff member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said his employment spanned both ownership eras. The change in regime was evident immediately after Gliksberg took the reins.

“The focus went from being people-oriented to being mostly about profit,” the employee said. “It became a place where employees were overworked and underpaid. Gabi had an attitude that he could do no wrong and wasn’t interested in anyone’s input.”

Gliksberg, the employee said, replaced key management positions with his own personnel, and staff were kept in the dark about decisions that impacted them.

“There was an atmosphere of general distrust, and people felt they were unable to take initiative for fear of retribution,” the source said. “Leticia had a passion for the industry, but Gabi moved in a very different way.”

Financials paint a different picture

While economic factors and dwindling enrollment were cited as factors in the two school closures, financial records at ASM in Atlanta, at least, seem to counter that contention.

Business license renewal information filed by Gilksberg show that gross receipts more than doubled in the five years Accelerate Atlanta owned it.

In 2018, actual gross receipts were almost $2 million, and in 2019, $3.8 million. That number dipped to $3.1 million in 2020, and the following three years were around $4.1 million each.

The business license information, obtained by Rough Draft through an open records request, also reported that an average of 50 employees worked at ASM during the five years Accelerate owned it.

The former employee said that while it was true that enrollment in the massage school program dwindled over the years, the aesthetician program was thriving.

Rough Draft has sent an email to Gilksberg regarding the demise of both schools and asking for comment regarding the rent that the Atlanta school allegedly owes its landlord. As of Friday afternoon, Gilksberg has not responded.

All of ASM’s social media channels have been deactivated, as well as AMC’s phone number and website.

The former employee said one of their last conversations with Allen was chillingly prophetic.

“She told me that just because the school had been operating for 35 years, it didn’t mean that it would be open another five years,” the source said. “And that turned out to be true.”