Salon suites are recreating the beauty industry experience on Long Island

After 17 years of happily toiling and foiling at a salon, hairstylist MariJo Iadevaia, 39, "kind of outgrew it," she says. "I knew there was something more."

That "something" turned out to be a concept that has caught on across Long Island. It’s built around customizable suites for beauty and wellness professionals — and offers a fresh option for customers.

Salon Culture Suites and Phenix Salon Suites are two such businesses, both with multiple Long Island locations. On the outside, it looks like a typical salon. Inside, there’s a warren of invitingly appointed studios that are like mini apartments.

Tenants here are hairstylists, nail techs, aestheticians, massage therapists, lash specialists, tattoo artists and others. Each suite has a private door and a distinct vibe inside. Stylists pay a weekly rent while they build their brand. Customers enter a one-stop shop for beauty needs.

Salon Culture Suites founder Jasmine Fine, 56, is a 30-plus-year veteran of the beauty industry who owns the Bellmore salon Who Does Your Hair. Fine observed her field evolving about a decade ago.

Salon payment structures vary and include salary, commission, and chair rental. "I saw my industry changing in about 2014," she says, adding that, increasingly, stylists she’d mentored sought to go out on their own.

"I realized that a lot of people want to own a business — they just didn’t know how," Fine adds. The first Salon Culture Suites opened in 2020 in Bellmore.

Kristie Fatscher, 54, is partnered with Fine at Salon Culture Suites in Farmingdale, which opened in September, and in Massapequa. Fatscher, whose career experience includes marketing and interior design, chalks up the concept's popularity to autonomy.

"People want control of their lifestyle, of their money, and of how they manage their business," she says.

Living the suite life

Phenix Salon Suites came into fruition in 2007 after its founder, hairstylist Gina Rivera who was in Colorado Springs at the time, had her son.

Rivera envisioned Phenix Salon Suites, named after her son, as a way for beauty professionals to operate their own businesses. There are now four Salon Culture Suites on Long Island. Phenix Salon Suites, headquartered in Las Vegas, has 12 local complexes and more than 400 around the U.S. There are other suites-based brands as well.

Andrew Cotten, 28, opened AKA Equality Cuts at Phenix Salon Suites in Commack in August 2023. He previously worked in a barbershop, where he says he rented a chair for around $200-$225 a week.

His current rent "is a little more, but you get more," he says. "There’s nobody above you. It’s really like having your storefront without having the storefront."

Suites encourage individuality. "I create the atmosphere with music or with TV," he says. "In a barbershop, I can’t do that because of all the different personalities."

Location and flexibility are everything

As with any business, location is key to the suite concept success, according to retail consultant Mark Cohen, former director of retail studies at Columbia University in Manhattan.

"For this sort of a business, it’s absolutely vital that the location be in the right place, in proximity to customers, and that it’s visible and it’s attractive," says Cohen.

Salon Culture Suites’  Farmingdale address on Main Street was carefully considered. "The location of this building was very important," says Fatscher. "We love the idea of being in the center of a village. Parking for the clients has always got to be extremely visible and easy."

An added plus for clients and stylists alike at the Farmingdale complex is Rachel’s Treasures, a clothing and accessories boutique. It comes in handy when you’re in the middle of a hair treatment or have a long workday.

"These girls all want to shop while they’re processing," says shop owner Rachel Belzer. "Sometimes you could be there for hours. It can get a little boring."

Beauty and wellness professionals say they’re drawn to the flexibility suites afford them. Hair colorist Anajancy Hasty, 38, launched her business, Bold Blonde & In Between, in February 2023 at Phenix Salon Suites in Commack.

"As a colorist, I feel like I’m an artist," she says. "In a salon, they can schedule clients every hour. You just can't create art in an hour." In addition to having the freedom to use products, she values being able to build a schedule that works for her.

"I’m a mom," she says, "and the last two years have given me the freedom to show up at ballgames and to take my kids where they had to go."

Because the buildings are accessible 24/7, clients must be buzzed in. The built-in security is a plus, salon pros agreed. A number of them also noted that having a client list before opening boosts the odds of success.

Maintaining and growing a list of clientele is crucial

Tattoo artist Tony Huynh, 31, operates Tony Inks at Phenix Salon Suites in Centereach on an appointment basis. "It’s super important to have clients already because suites are not about walk-ins," he says. "People aren’t coming in and out to check things out like at a tattoo shop."

While suites are self-contained, a mutually beneficial synergy is present. Ask Allison Morelli, 32, a licensed massage therapist, who runs Well Kneaded Massage LI at Salon Culture Suites in both Farmingdale and Bellmore.

"I have clients who do come from Queens," she says, "and they ask me, ‘Who’s the best facialist? Who's the best hairstylist? Can I do all of this in one day?’ And I'm like, you can."

Inside the suite in Centereach, Kathleen Delvecchio, 55, who opened Creative Nails & Spa  in Centereach, has found a similar valuable networking dynamic. "Within Phenix," she says, "we all refer clients to each other."

Hairstylist MariJo Iadevaia recently opened Wild Rose Beauty at Salon Culture Suites in Farmingdale. She shares the space with hairstylist Alexis Genova, who runs Lex Did It.

"I work a four-day work week," says Iadevaia, whose daughters are 13 and 9. "My chair is empty on three days when I spend most of my time with my family, as well as do food shopping, cleaning, the whole nine."

"I have a bit more control," she adds. "I honestly have never been happier in my nearly 20 years of doing my job."

She’s found a home suite home.