Cold and gray weather may have stopped many students from doing any sunbathing.

But a new tanning salon in East Lansing will give students the chance to shed their white skin for a copper color.

Jerry and Jenni Hartsuff are opening the Tanning Co., 432 Albert St.

Jenni Hartsuff said the store will have 10 to 12 tanning units and is scheduled to open in the next few weeks. She said her own teenage children tan and her husband and she decided to open a salon of their own.

“We live in East Lansing and so we kind of wanted to stay in the area,” she said.

But tanning is not the only feature of the new shop.

“We are going to have Gevalia coffees and teas and we are going to have custom beading,” she said. “So if some people have a dress or a sweater and they want some beads to go with it.”

Jenni Hartsuff said the new salon should be popular with MSU students.

“A lot of things are pretty bare bones for students and we wanted something that was upscale and was priced right for students,” she said.

But Mike LaPoe, owner of B-Tan, 233 E. Grand River Ave., said the business of owning a salon can be difficult.

LaPoe said his own shop has been in East Lansing for eight years and sometimes electricity bills and competition can make business hard.

“There is a lot of students in East Lansing, but location and pricing are big,” he said.

Salons are popular in East Lansing, said Victoria Velez, manager of Super-Tans, 617 E. Grand River Ave.

“As far as I am concerned, we are always going to be busy and we are always going to have competition,” she said.

Jim van Ravensway, director of planning and community development for the city, said owning a salon can be a profitable business.

“There must be a decent viable business, you see them everywhere,” he said.

Students may want to wait until spring break to get a copper tone to their skin, though.

General management sophomore Janet Papcun said she went to Super-Tans last year and will eventually go back when she has time.

“Tanning Co. is a little too far away from where I live so I probably won’t go,” she said.

Elementary education junior Stephanie Luberacki said she would like to try the new salon when it opens.

“I haven’t been tanning lately, but I will probably try it,” she said.

But some students might not like the idea of losing their light skin tone.

Nicole Farison said she never goes to a tanning salon.

“I don’t think it is good for you,” the hospitality business senior said. “Plus I don’t think I need to change the way I look for society.”