BY SKYLER, DEB & TIM SMITH
When I went to interview Victoria Allen about her hair salon I walked two doors down to the Black Horse Bistro, went in and took a seat. Dad, Deb and I were a few minutes early so we grabbed seats at one of their classic window tables. You see Victoria, in addition to owning her hair salon, is also the owner of the Bistro. It’s a good thing that she and her husband Mike are such nice people because they have us surrounded.
In addition to the Bistro they also own the Sentinel/Carosa building right next door to us, the duplex around the corner just south of the Mendon Wok, and the duplex kitty corner across the street from us. Yep, if Mendon were a Monopoly game the Allens would definitely be winning.
One time when I was in Virginia Beach visiting Deb’s family, Mike had to call me with the news that one of our trees had fallen onto their property. After affirming the fact that I had an airtight alibi, we collaborated on a plan and everything worked out just fine.
At any rate, returning to the subject of Victoria’s hair salon, she has been open on Assembly Drive for 17 years now. Her salon is simply called “Victoria’s” and she’s actually had three different locations in fairly close proximity to her current spot. Threes are wild in this story, as she also has three other hair dressers who work alongside her at various times, while renting booths within her building. Okay, now brace yourself for a literary first . . . I am about to attempt the unheard of feat of rhyming a dozen words in the same sentence. Regarding Victoria and her coworkers at the salon, I dare declare and swear, there’s a lot of flair for debonair hair care in that lair shared there, au contraire?
The space she currently occupies is actually right next door to a spot I loved to go to as a kid. How many of you remember a restaurant called “Not Just Pizza” that flourished during the 1990’s but eventually succumbed to the Mendon pizza wars? This just has me thinking . . . maybe I’ll reach out to some of the defunct Mendon businesses and see if they would like to have me tell their stories.
After Victoria has worked her magic on your hair, let’s next focus on everything below the neck. Next week we’ll sojourn from one side of the hamlet to the other and take you on a visit to StudioMOVE.
