Business hit reset button
Barber shops, salons, others reopen as part of state’s next phase.
Two months after they shut their doors in response to the the COVID-19 pandemic, many Dayton area salons and barbershops reopened Friday as part of the next phase of the governor’s gradual re-opening of nonessential businesses.
The shops must follow strict state guidelines aimed at keeping customers and employees safe or risk being shut down again. Most owners said they were excited to be back in business while others others opted to remain closed out of an abundance of caution to protect customers and staff.
“It’s pretty awesome to be back,” Sherry Myers, owner of Hair Force Barber Shop and Salon on North Fairfield Road in Beavercreek, said as she cut longtime customer Matthew Pyo’s hair. She’s never seen his hair as long as it was Friday, Myers said.
To open, according to the state, businesses must:
■ Follow social distancing, exception t hat t he distance between the client and employee may be less than six feet.
■ Businesses must allow all customers, patrons, visitors, contractors, vendors and similar individ
uals to use facial coverings, except for specifically documented legal, life, health or safety considerations and limited documented security considerations.
■Employees must perform daily symptom assessment.
■ Require employees to stay home if symptomatic.
■ Require regular hand washing by employees.
■ Place hand sanitizers in high-contact locations.
■ Clean high-touch items after each use (e.g. carts, baskets)
The past two months have been difficult because they’ve not been able to do what they love, shop owners said. But the loss of income has been even more stressful for them and their staffers, many of whom are independent con- tractors.
They’ve applied for unemployment benefits, but the system’s been so inundated that none of the stylists and owners the Dayton Daily News talked to on Friday had been able to get assistance from the state.
So reopening their doors will help lessen some of the stress, Myers said. Many of her customers also feel some relief, they told her, because being unable to patronize per- sonal care businesses contributed to their depression.
“(The government) says we are nonessential busi- nesses, but I think we are more essential than they say,” Myers said.
Like other area shop owners, Myers said she’s booked for the next week-and-a-half and she had several other customers waiting on Friday to get haircuts and other per- sonal care services. No cus- tomers were in the waiting room, per state guidelines. Instead they waited in their cars in the parking lot.
Multiple other barbers and stylists were in the shop Friday, but they were all in various corners of the room.
Some shop owners, though, such as George Jackson, owner of Starting Line-Up Barber Shop in Fairborn, opted to remain closed until June 2. He and his co-owner have struggled financially, and they’ve been unable to get assistance from the state. But they would rather not risk their customers’ lives,
Jackson said.
“I just want to be cautious; I’d rather be safe than sorry, even if it means sacrificing more income,” he said. “I’d rather do that and just be cer- tain that there’s not going to be an uptick or there’s not going to be another situation where we’ll have to shut down again.”
At Main Street Hair Co. in downtown Fairborn, three customers were getting a pedicure, haircut and hair styl- ing Friday afternoon. Owner Jack Keaton — who also owns Bentley’s Salon nearby — said he’s booked for the next two months as customers have been eagerly awaiting for the shop to reopen. Some booked a year in advance before the lock-down order, he said.
Prior to the pandemic, Main Street Hair Co. didn’t take walk-in clients, and they are continuing that practice, as most personal care busi- nesses are doing. That will help them track all their customers in case someone who visits the business is infected with the coronavirus, Keaton said.
Customer Thomas Elling- son of Clayton was relieved to be back in stylist Lynda Jones’ chair for a haircut, as it was his first by a professional in two months. His wife trimmed it a couple of weeks ago, but he doesn’t consider it a “real” haircut, he said, laughing.
A reporter then asked if his wife did as good of a job as Jones typically does.
“No,” he said as Jones and others erupted in laughter. “After (his wife) finished, her first comment was, ‘Lynda has nothing to worry about, her job is secure.’”
Around the corner at Bent- ley’s Salon, stylists Kyle Williams, Emily Young and Chris- tie Johnson were tending to a couple of customers who had been eagerly awaiting for Friday. Williams, a Fairborn native who now lives in Dayton, said he enjoyed the two month break, “But I’m glad to be doing something famil- iar and what I love to do.”
It’s going to be tough getting accustomed to the new normal and implementing all of the guidelines. But he and his colleagues are committed to their customers’ safety, he said while styling customer Jennifer Snow-Mar- shall’s hair.
Historically, the hair industry has had strict rules about sanitation, infection control and the like. But having to reschedule all of their clients and not being able to double book will be some of the challenges, he said.
Emily Young said she’s ambivalent about returning to work. She’s nervous that the state might shut businesses down again if COVID19 infections worsen and she doesn’s want to get sick. But she’s excited to do what she loves and tend to customers such as Morgan Arwood of Fairborn.
Arwood commended Young and her co-workers for doing a great job of informing clients about the new guidelines and ensuring everyone remains safe. She was even more excited to finally be back in Young’s chair after a two month break.
“This is the first time I’ve been anywhere other than Kroger since March 13,” Arwood said. “It feels wonderful to be out.”