Salon's new look has a tropical twist

Author: Kelly Janis

O'Brien's hair salon has occupied a coveted position among the most frequented establishments on Main Street since opening in 1979. Now, boasting a new name, new services and a new line of hair care products, O'Brien's, now going by Bimini Bills: "Your Hair Resort," is eager to ascend to new heights.

Salon manager Glenn Brown observes that the town of Middlebury is swiftly growing. As a consequence, he says, the establishments which dwell within the town's borders must strive to enact similar growth. "We wanted to revitalize the business," he explained, "update our look, move in a new direction, appeal to a wider audience."

In an effort to achieve this, the salon removed its tanning beds and replaced them with waxing rooms, installed a new floor, painted its walls, altered its back sinks, redesigned its cutting stations and hauled in a new line of Aveda products. The latter is the first in a series of vital moves in the salon's pursuit to furnish its customers with "more high end stuff" and craft an environment which is "closer to a spa resort" than the salon's previous incarnation.

In this vein, the establishment's business cards and brochures are newly adorned with palm trees swaying against a picturesque, tropical backdrop which bears a resemblance to rural Vermont only within the walls of Bimini Bill's.

The renovations necessary to craft this pseudo-tropical reprieve began at the end of August and proceeded over a period of six weeks. In the intermediary, the salon never shut down in full. Instead, Bimini Bill's new look came to fruition "little by little. We would close for two days," Brown explains, "and then reopen. Then, we might be closed for one day the next week before reopening again."

Brown emerges from the fray of construction most proud of "the employees, because they worked all the way through the renovations. And, of course," he adds with a smile, "the look, the ambience."

Brown's staff of six has its gaze fixed firmly upon the business's future. "We would love to succeed, and become one of the top salons in the area," Brown says. The greatest obstacle to seeing this aim realized, according to the owner, is simply "getting our name out there."

Bimini Bill's name is certain to travel with a flourish once Middlebury residents catch wind of the salon's diverse and reasonably priced selection of hair cutting, finishing, coloring and texturing coupled with myriad specialty services, which distinguish the establishment from all others in the realm of hair care. After all, is there anyother place one can bask in tropical glory in the midst of New England?