Hair salon owner urges Raimondo not to reopen salons last: ‘We are essential’
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – Studio 101 in Providence’s financial district was one of the first hair salons to close ahead of Governor Gina Raimondo’s order on March 22.
“We really will do whatever it takes to be as compliant as possible and to make sure that our staff and our guests are as safe as possible,” said owner Kristen Lazzareschi.
Lazzareschi closed up shop a week before the state’s closure. But, now that it’s been over a month, she’s ready to get back to work.
“We love what we do, and we just want to get back to work and continue doing what we do well in the safest way possible.”
Safety is number one, Lazzareschi said, but she fears that reopening hair salons last, as Governor Raimondo has said, will be a death sentence for salons like hers.
“I have people that work for me and I want to make sure that we keep the salon alive. We have to get back to work.”
On Sunday, the Governor said in her daily briefing that salons would be among one of the last industries to re-open in the state as it requires close contact. She added that a solution could be that hairstylists make home visits, an unsafe practice Lazzareschi said, as hair salons have controlled environments and homes do not.
Lazzareschi wrote a letter to Governor Raimondo after that briefing, offering up her insight as the state works on guidelines for re-opening.
She’s already gotten a head start on the upcoming restrictions by brainstorming some new rules of her own.
When reopened, the salon will require their stylists to wear gloves and masks, and all customers must wear a mask. The salon will practice social distancing by spacing out chairs by at least 6 feet, and their waiting room will be no longer. Instead, customers will get a text from their stylist that their chair is ready.
“We can’t have any beverages in the salon, we’re gonna make sure we’re cleaning everything down in between our guest visits,” said Lazzareschi.
With those precautions in place, Lazzareschi hopes they’ll get the green light to re-open. In a perfect world, she said, that will be mid-May.
“Of course I get we’re in close contact, and you know, it’s dangerous,” Lazzareschi said, “but I feel like we are essential and our guests are waiting for us and it really makes a difference in their lives and how they feel. What we do is more than reshaping a guest’s hair and painting their hair. We touch people’s lives and we make a difference in people’s lives, and we are essential.”
© WLNE 2020
