Helio might only have a small handful of subscribers at this point, but the MVNO joint venture is putting in a big push to get your business. We’ve seen the pair of television commercials — “Meet the Parents” and “Frenchie” — and now Helio is set to open a bunch of retail stores across the nation.

The MySpace-centric cellular provider is planning to open its first store in Santa Monica sometime this October, with several other stores destined for such towns as Denver, San Diego, and New York. The interior design will surely be futuristic, filled with painted glass and such.

Most interestingly, however, is what they call configuration “pods”, whatever those are. If you happen to get your Kickflip or Hero handset a little grimey, you can just head on over to the “spa kits” for a little sprucing up.

I can just see it now… “Don’t call us a phone company. Don’t call it a store.”