‘THE PURSUIT OF GREAT HAIR’

Entrepreneur’s passion leads her to open blow-dry bar

GREENWICH — Stephanie Leone-Kim has a penchant for taking on new challenges, likes interacting with people, has a strong commitment to the community and, she says with a laugh, “I’ve always been into hair.”

With her entrepreneurial instincts and elegantly coiffed hair, Leone-Kim turned to her new profession, as the owner and operator of La Brosse Dry Bar on the Post Road in Cos Cob. A “blow-dry bar,” as it is known, is a salon that doesn’t provide haircuts or coloring, but instead offers shaping, nourishment and blow-drying of hair for a polished look.

A married mother of two, Leone-Kim previously worked in finance in London and New York City before moving to Greenwich to raise her family. The entrepreneur became friendly with a number of hairstylists in town. So when a local dry bar closed down, Leone-Kim thought it would be a great time to get into the business with her friends. “These girls are the best in the business,” she says.

And, voila, La Brosse opened in a little shopping center where a previous hair salon had operated — after an extensive remodeling of the space. The name of the business means “brush” in French.

As part of her community involvement, Leone-Kim joined the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Company as a volunteer firefighter — and also helps out with the financing and accounting work at the firehouse, she said.

“I love to meet people, and I wanted to have a business in my community,” she said. “And all my friends said something like this is really needed.”

Thanks to her analytical nature, Leone-Kim spent month testing products to ensure to get the best results when La Brosse opened its doors.

With the business its second week of operation, the new owner says she’s looking to find fulfillment running her own business

Above, Julie Jasaroska works with a customer at La Brosse Dry Bar in Cos Cob. Stephanie Leone-Kim, a former financier, has taken her entrepreneurial skills in a new direction by opening her own salon, La Brosse Dry Bar.

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Owner Stephanie Leone-Kim at La Brosse Dry Bar in Greenwich’s Cos Cob.

in a town she loves. And especially, she says she is in “the pursuit of great hair.”