Salon Brio at Meridian opened just last month in the New Village at Patchogue complex, but Cindy Mace has owned and operated salons in Suffolk County for over 30 years.
In Patchogue, she brought her daughter Ariana along as a co-owner.
The two started planning a year ago to close Meridian The Salon on Jericho Turnpike in Commack in favor of a fresh start with the idea of catering their services to a younger clientele.
The choice was clear the entire time; they wanted to be in downtown Patchogue.
“I was going out here at 21 and telling my mom, we need to get out here,” said Ariana.
So they “stepped it up,” Cindy said..
Salon Brio opened at 12 Havens Avenue around Labor Day, looking like a New York City salon.
Cindy, a stylist who lives in Holtsville, opened her first salon in Huntington in 1986.
She has clients that have been with her since the beginning, including through the moves to Dix Hills and Commack.
Although many will be heading to Patchogue, she said, “still many are in their 60s now and retiring and moving away. So we needed to refill and start younger.”
On Friday, the Maces were joined by a legion of supporters for a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Tritec Real Estate Company Inc., the builders of the mixed-use New Village complex.
Tritec’s chief operating officer, Rob Loscalzo, said Salon Brio fits perfectly within the New Village puzzle, which includes 291 apartments and over 46,000 square feet of retail.
“They have lot of new clients that are right from the development,” Loscalzo said, “So it’s a good symmetry between residential and retail, and that’s really what we’re after. She has history and she’s trying to transition to the next generation.”
The name Brio comes from a family favorite spa in Mexico, explained Ariana, who grew up in her mother’s salons and started working with her in high school.
“Every time we walked in [Brio Spa] we felt happy and good, so we adopted it here,” Ariana said. “And we added the Meridian, so we got rid of the old salon but it’s still a part of us.”
Top: Cindy Mace and Ariana Mace at their Salon Brio at Meridian on Friday.
Photos from Friday by Andrew Theodorakis for New Village
