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Salon owners in Orange Zones rent space in Yellow Zones to keep working

Posted at 5:52 PM, Nov 30, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-30 17:52:15-05

ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's getting hard for Jessica Jackson to make ends meet. Her business, Sisters Salon in Cheektowaga, is in an Orange Zone, so it's shut down again. But now, Jackson has an option to keep working just a few towns away.

"More so than frustrating, it's worrisome. I can't pay the rent at my salon anymore without working. I probably can't pay the rent at home," Jackson said.

Just down the street, her friend's salon is open in North Tonawanda.

"She messaged me and said 'Hey Jessica, I know you're closed. If at any point you really need to get back in the swing of things and I'm still open, you can certainly come here and use a chair,'" Jackson said.

That's a reality for salon owners in Rochester. They're moving from their spaces in Orange Zones to rent space in Yellow Zones so they can work without restrictions. Michele Brown, owner of Michele & One L Co., started renting space in a Webster, which is in a Yellow Zone. After an Orange Zone was declared, her salon in downtown Rochester closed.

"It keeps all of our stylists busy, keeps our clients coming to us. They're not going to start to go to other locations or see other stylists in between," Brown said.

It's salon owners helping salon owners by renting out space in unrestricted zones. Jessica Weiland owns two Blowout Studio Blow Dry Bar locations. She's working of the Pittsford salon while Brown rents the Webster space.

"I know how it was the first time around when everything had to shut down and how it could be difficult. The fact some stylists had to go through this with their salons and some didn't, I wanted to do something that could kind of help them keep going and keep their business," Weiland said.

Jackson said the longer the shut down lasts, the more likely she will be to rent a chair in a Yellow Zone.

"If it gets to be to long and you're still open, I'll take you up on that offer because I can't afford to lose money. I can't afford to sit here and worry about paying bills," Jackson said.