SPRINGFIELD, IL – People shopping at the Fair Plaza last year may have noticed Illinois Relax Spa operating most hours of the day at 1428 E. Sangamon Ave. The business also advertised its services on explicit websites.
Now, shoppers may have noticed a new business in the same location: H Massage.
According to the Illinois Secretary of State database, H Massage LLC was established on March 5 to the state with listed agent Haiyan Zhang.
Zhang has also been the registered agent of three other massage limited liability companies dating from 2012 to 2021; Asian Massage Inc., Yan Massage Inc. and KK Spa & Massage LLC.
Yan Massage, which has since closed, still has an accessible Yelp page with photos published by the business promoting services alongside pictures of young Asian women in suggestive posing. KK Massage and Spa still has a listing on a popular massage parlor website as well.
All three other businesses operated in Peoria and Fairview and have been dissolved or terminated.
H Massage lists their hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
However, unlike the other establishments managed by Zhang, according to a Freedom of Information Act filed by The State Journal-Register, H Massage was issued a license on June 3 by the city of Springfield to operate legally within the city.
Since late 2024, the city of Springfield requires all massage establishments to operate with a massage business license, going through an application process, therapist license checks and building inspections to receive a license to operate.
H Massage has no ties to any of the massage businesses which closed in the County earlier this year, per one county official. However, in December of 2025 Zhang represented 5 Star Massage in a Sangamon County Board public health committee, resulting in the closure of the business the same meeting by vote.
The State Journal-Register reached out to the city of Springfield on Aug. 5 for clarification on the licensing process protocol regarding agents of the applying LLC to be subject to background checks.
We received a response from Corporation Council Greg Moredock saying that all applicants must submit to a background check and go through the same business licensing background check process as the liquor license applicants.
The Illinois Department for Professional Regulation has a public database where licensed massage therapists and businesses can be searched online.
Illinois Relax Spa failed to receive a license in 2024, and was one of 11 establishments closed by the city in February of 2025 and one of two that continued operating after the city’s call for closure.
In late February of that year, the city requested an emergency temporary restraining order through the Sangamon County Circuit Court to close the location.
H Massage is not the first business to take up space in a previously closed massage parlor.
IRelax Hair Salon at 1560 Wabash Ave. takes up the previous space of the closed Jade Spa, a building associated in ownership with Greg Fraase, who was charged with operating six “houses of prostitution” in 2024.
IRelax was under police investigation as of June, according to a FOIA request filed by The State Journal-Register.
Details of the investigation were not released, however, because authorities were still investigating.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@usatodayco.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New massage business opens at site of closed parlor in Springfield
Reporting by Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Claire Grant, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
