Ang & Sal’s Hairstyling Closes After 36 Years In Uptown Saint John
SAINT JOHN – Ang & Sal’s Hairstyling, a Shoppes of City Hall institution, officially closed their doors on April 27 after 36 years of business.
The salon was one of the original businesses that opened in Shoppes of City Hall, alongside Pete’s Pub.
“I was teasing my clients that I was going to put up a big sign, ‘I’ve Run Out of Neighbours!’” joked owner Salvatore “Sal” Scichilone.
Sal came to Canada in 1966, working with his brothers and doing barbering on the West Side and Loch Lomond Mall. He opened Ang & Sal’s in 1984 as a unisex hairdresser to expand into female clientele and had aspirations for it to be a family business, with his children taking over in the future. Ang & Sal’s had a staff of six and at one point, he had 11 people working for him.
“It’s sad really [that] in the centre of the city, the heart of the city there’s nothing,” said Sal. “You know when those ships come in there’s nothing in the mall to offer and that’s sad.”
He had many customers come to the salon when the cruise ships came to Saint John, with the traffic coming in and the tourists asking what is in the city, what to do and where to go.
Sal also used to organize soccer games between the city of Saint John and the staff of the cruise ships and do business by knowing them.
“They would invite us on the ship,” he said. “I used to invite all the people who were involved, to play with their girlfriends or wives and spend four or five hours on the ship.”
Sal follows and watches Italian news and after seeing how Covid-19 impacted Italy, along with having lung problems, he knew he had to be ahead of the curve and shut down the salon on March 14.
“I closed before the province or the hairdresser association even told us to close,” he said. “It was personal for me, for my staff. We have to think about security – it’s life involved and you are always trying to make the best decisions [for everybody].
As the restrictions stretched on and lasted longer than many people expected, uncertainty over rent and bills grew as well as the “new normal” for businesses.
Uncertainty over whether rents and bills would be deferred, as many people believed the restrictions and closures would last only a couple of weeks, and the “new normal” of when or if they would re-open.
“We were not ever going to be what it was before when you opened the door and invite everybody in,” said Sal’s daughter Anna.
“We would be limited to how many people could come into the salon at a given time, so that puts a restriction on the entire staff because of the proper social distancing, and then the added cost of the steps that are going to be taken, the measures for disposable sanitary measures for each and every single client.”
“At this stage in [my dad’s] life, it shouldn’t be about the hustle,” she added.
Ang & Sal’s staff and clients weren’t simply employees and customers, but friends and family. Schilone had clients who had been with him for 40 years and has seen three generations come through his doors, through weddings, funerals and births, who have sent notes to the Scichilone family telling them how much the salon has meant to them.
“We can share life stuff when people sit in the chair and me, I always talk about my kids, my grandkids,” he said.
“My grandson Marco, when he comes, whoever is in the shop they enjoy seeing him. When he comes to the door he goes, ‘Hello Everybody!’” shared Sal. “When he leaves he hugs everybody and says ‘Have a great day everybody!’”
Closing the salon on April 27 and leaving his clients was as painful to him as when he left Sicily by boat. The lack of closure, being unable to have a gracious exit plan and warm people up to closing, was also difficult.
“When you leave people you love and go to a new life, you forget the sorrow but never forget them,” said Sal. “I will never forget the clients but I’m also trying to get a new life and try to enjoy whatever I got left.”
He has been slowing down and learning to relax, although he has had to adjust to sitting more often instead of standing 10 hours a day.
“I’m looking for a new life and to enjoy a new journey,” he said. “It’s a new chapter for me and I have to get used to it.”