Joey Buccini hasn’t had a haircut in six weeks.
Buccini, an Ohio University sophomore studying video production and visual communications, visited the Regis Hair Salon for his periodic haircuts until the salon closed last month.
But with the help of a local business owner, Buccini and the rest of the salon’s regulars will soon be able to return to 10 S. Court Street get their roots colored, split ends fixed and their hair shampooed.
Featuring haircuts and burritos, Court Street Cuts will host a grand opening in the first week of March in celebration of a business partnership between former Regis manager Kenn Moore, hairstylist Debbie Cain and Big Mamma’s Burritos owner Quinn Schaller.
Schaller, who took over the salon’s lease, said other businesses could have been more profitable but because his close relationships with Moore and Cain, he decided to keep the pair as business neighbors and, now, partners.
“Kenn and Debbie are good people, and they deserve the opportunity to stay in this location, work in a place that they like and experience the atmosphere of uptown Athens,” Schaller said. “In the end, I decided that I would rather have these two back than to do anything else with the space.”
In addition to helping his neighbors, Schaller said the new space will also allow Big Mamma’s to expand their storage. The back of the salon will be used for the restaurant, leaving only the front half available for four salon seats.
The salon will be remodeled for the shift in space as well as installing new equipment, chairs, carpet and applying a fresh coat of paint, all of which was more than 25 years old, said Schaller.
“(Court Street Cuts) will restore the small town, personal feeling with everyone knowing everybody,” Schaller said. “I want people to walk into Big Mamma’s with the employees knowing their burrito and them being able to come here and Kenn and Debbie knowing how to do to their hair.”
Although their prices are not finalized, Moore says they will be cheaper than their competitors.
To prepare for the opening, Moore said that he and Cain have been recruiting their former Regis stylists to fill the other salon chairs.
Moore, who Schaller describes as the “Social Butterfly of Court Street,” said he is ready to open the salon and is confident his clientele will return.
“I have been hollered at throughout Athens and have received many phone calls from mine and Debbie’s customers asking when we are coming back,” Moore said. “Everybody seems really excited, and I think we are going to have a very busy and profitable salon.”
Buccini said he is excited for the salon to return because of the stylist’s expertise and their low prices.
“Ken is a really cool guy, and he does a great job with my hair,” he said. “I’m excited it all worked out and can’t wait to come back.”
sl642509@ohiou.edu
