NEW YORK — Astoria’s Redken Saloon Salon is used to booking clients based on good reviews, but the owner told NY1 on Friday that rumors now appear to be fueling a number of new appointments booked in the last week.


What You Need To Know

  • Several salon owners report increase in clients calling to schedule appointments

  • They say many clients are coming in anticipation of a second lockdown

  • If NYC is deemed an “orange zone,” barbershops, tattoo shops, other nonessential businesses will close

  • Yet employees at two high-end Manhattan salons said they hadn’t seen an increase

“We’re busy because of people’s fear of a lockdown. It brought in the idea that, ‘All right, let me get in before they lock it down,’” explained Frank Arcabascio, the owner of Redken Saloon Salon.

As of Friday evening, city officials had offered no specifics on any new lockdown.

That hasn’t kept some New Yorkers from worrying about what may happen.

Arcabascio told NY1 he has been working overtime since the weekend to keep up with demand while still following the state’s coronavirus guidelines.

“I actually saw 15 people for haircuts where normally I would see seven or eight,” said Arcabascio. “People were calling me asking me to fit them in.”
 

An employee at Redken Saloon Salon with a client on November 20, 2020. Angi Gonzalez/NY1.


A stylist at a 5th Avenue salon told NY1 that he saw an increase in interest for the “color kits” they sell to clients so they can take them home. During the lockdown this spring, Salon 718 put together the same kind of “color kits” for their clients.

Salon 718 has several locations across Brooklyn, and management said Friday the rush it is seeing started Wednesday.

“Once they made the announcement that schools were going to be shut down, we got an influx of calls,” said Aneshka Spaddy, the lead of guest services at Salon 718.

Around the same time the announcement about city schools was made, Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated that the city as whole might soon be designated an “orange zone.”

That designation would mean that all high-risk nonessential businesses would be forced to close. That includes gyms, tattoo parlors, hair and nail salons, and even barbershops.

At Headrush Barbershop in Williamsburg, the owner said he’s seen so much interest in recent days that he’s decided to forgo a short vacation over the Thanksgiving weekend. He hopes to squeeze in as many clients as he can during that time.

While he’s trying to focus on the positive side of the business, he said the thought of having to close down again cuts deep.

“It’s just happening all over again,” said Gustavo “Goose” Montenegro. “It’s crazy because a lot of businesses are struggling right now, and to go through this again is just a nightmare all over."

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