'This Is Not A Setback': Tranquility Salon Returns After Shutdown

CHICAGO — The two-month forced shutdown of hair salons throughout Illinois created a significant financial impact on the industry, but the owners of Tranquility Salon in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood are looking at it from a different angle.

"This is time for optimism... a time for renewal," said Meg'n Barba, who owns the salon at 9908 S. Walden Parkway with her sister, Katie.

"I don't feel like this is a setback, but more of a push forward to doing our business the way we'd actually like to be doing it. It's vital for us to keep innovating according to the changes going on in the world."

The salon has indeed had to make some significant changes though since reopening as part of the current phase of the Restore Illinois plan, however. All stations are now at least six feet apart, temperatures are taken of clients as they enter, everyone needs to wear a mask and hand sanitizer is given to all, Barba said.

"The magazines and the water are gone... we are encouraging people to pay with credit and debit cards and less cash," she said.

The demand for hair services is, as expected, through the roof after a two-month closure. All nine of the Tranquility stylists are booked for the foreseeable future and the salon is now accepting clients by appointment seven days a week instead of five.

"Everyone has wanted to get their hair done for awhile," Barba said. "We've been really busy and expanding our hours as much as we can to accommodate our clients. At first, it felt like a lot to reschedule, but we will now have people working on Sundays and Mondays."

There is also no more leisurely waiting area, as Barba encourages those in the area waiting for their appointment to begin to instead shop at some unique stores nearby.

Tranquility has been a staple of the Walden Parkway business corridor that's just steps away from the 99th Street Metra Rock Island station for the better part of the past decade. It's a corridor that's home to a number of recently established businesses like Turkey, City Grange and the second location of Two Mile Coffee Bar, which has opened in the space most recently occupied by the B-Sides coffee shop.

Opening soon on Walden Parkway, Barba said, will be Beverly Dry Goods and Oak and Bloom, a floral design shop.

"We want our clients to be patriots for the entire block," Barba said.

The return to work for small business owners on Walden, in Beverly, across Illinois and all over the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Barba said, is "a time for optimistic renewal."

"This is a time when we must be expecting good to follow," she said. "A time to shine a light on what's already here and what is good."

"We are taking this as a complete good thing, and we're going to be back stronger than we've ever been."

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O P T I M I S T I C R E N E W A L We Are so Grateful for the time we have been given.. to slow down, to reflect on life, to let go, to go within...to make positive changes, to evaluate what’s worth keeping and what we truly want to give our energy to. We have had time to be present and fully engaged with what matters most and at the end of the day we have learned to trust more in the future being very bright for all. We are most grateful for the time we have had to be present with the ones we love most. We realized when the external world was no longer available to us, that going within never felt better. With a bittersweet farewell to the time we have had to be home, we are ECSTATIC to be welcoming back each and every one of you. We are thrilled to see our clients, neighbors, and friends.. both old and new. WE ARE EXTRA GRATEFUL FOR OUR NEW BUSINESS NEIGHBORS at 99th and Walden pkwy.. At such an unprecedented time, your optimistic nature and belief in what your doing is shining through ! Congrats to each of you for taking the plunge and wishing you great success for years to come... WE WILL ALL RISE TOGETHER AND BE STRONGER THAN EVER... @citygrange @twomilecoffeebar @beverlydrygoods @oakandbloomchicago ( thank you for this beautiful arrangement photographed above for our opening day) Cheers to a new beginning , LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL !
A post shared by TRANQUILITY SALON CO (@tranquilitysalonco) on Jun 3, 2020 at 2:28pm PDT