I know this question has been brought up a number of times and I have always ignored it..... and maybe I should continue to do so, but alas I can't help myself.
I was a very dear friend of the previous owner of AC. (I know he had his faults-but he did have some redeeming qualities as well) Anyway, I had gotten my start in the biz at AC wayyyyyyyy back when, and ended up managing for Chris a year or so prior to his death. Which is actually how the 409 franchise(lol) was started - Although I learned alot about what NOT to do when running a spa I would never have dreamed of doing this had I not learned so much from him, so his b-day was April 9th and so 409 was born.
I loved being there and had forged some long term friendships with both girls and managers. I had left prior to Chris' family selling AC to the current ownership. When I left it was my intention to open up my own spa, and I did. The fact that I also aquired the Finch location was never "part of the plan" it just made good business sense. I have never met the owner(s) of AC - although I hear they're quite nice and I have no relation to them nor do I have any "beef" with them. The fact that I remained friends with many people there was simply human nature and that's a big reason why some of the ladies end up at 409.
It's also a big reason why I have a couple of male managers which I know not everyone likes. But when I got 'canned' so did a couple of other people because of me and that kind of loyalty I just couldn't ignore. So that's the compact version of why so many people from 409 have also been at AC.