By Allie Ward
For many customers at Salon Villa in Hamilton, going in to get your hair done is a lot like coming home.
“I keep coming back to the salon because everybody is like family here,” said a customer who’s been going to Salon Villa for 45 years. “You can say what you want and it’s just never changed.”
Though it spent its first 40 years as Villa Park Beauty Salon in Trenton, Salon Villa is going on 10 years at its Hamilton Nottingham Way location, and business is booming, said owner Debbie Iero, whose mother, Marie Tuccillo Cantor, founded the original salon.
“It’s a great location with great customers,” Iero said. “I love this area.”
The family-owned shop—Iero’s sister and niece both work there as well—prides itself on the casual, family atmosphere. “We were all raised in a salon,” Iero said of her family. “This was my father’s dream and I wish he was around to see all this; he would’ve been thrilled.”
Salon Villa is billed as a full-service salon, and offers haircuts, color services, styling, treatments, nail services and waxing. Stylists are also certified in Keratin Complex Smoothing, Express Blow Outs, L’Oreal Inoa Color and Pure and feather hair extensions.
Iero’s staff of stylists ranges in age to accommodate its clientele.
“We do everything, from 2-year-olds to 90-year-olds. We do men’s hair, we do nails,” Iero said. “We’re versatile and that shows in the age group of my girls.”
A quick walk around the salon floor reveals how close the stylists are with not only each other, but with their customers too, who playfully squabble over who has been going to Salon Villa the longest. It’s more like a gathering of friends than a hair salon.
Stylist Joanne Breza has been doing Hamilton resident Rosemarie Naples’ hair for 20 years. Stylist Amy Piantoni’s client Deb Strous from Monroe Township has been coming to Salon Villa for seven years and raves, “It’s great. They never take off too much hair.” Cathy Mutek, of Hamilton, was so pleased with her Salon Villa experience that she now brings her whole family.
“It’s excellent; I come here all the time,” she said.
With 20, 30, even 40-year customers, Salon Villa has its loyal base, but Iero said she has many walk-ins because of her salon’s accessible location.
“Every day, I see new people,” she said.
Though Salon Villa has a string of other salons along nearby Route 33 to compete with, Iero believes her shop has some of the best prices around.
“I think we’re the most reasonable in the area,” she said. “Even with the economy, I haven’t raised prices in four years.”
Coming up on the decade anniversary in Hamilton next year, Iero is considering hosting a celebratory event featuring the band My Chemical Romance, of which Iero’s stepson, Frank, is a member. Iero said she is pleased with the homey feel of Salon Villa, and has no immediate plans to expand the business.
“Everybody gets along here; that’s one of my biggest things,” she said. “We’re casual yet professional.”
Salon Villa is located at 3695 Nottingham Way in Hamilton and is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or to set up an appointment, call (609) 587-6700.
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