Aug. 29, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
She Goes To Your Head, a well-known unisex salon that has been a Steinway St. staple for almost 50 years, is set to close its doors for the last time this Saturday.
Owner Pauline Jannelli, who opened the salon in 1977 at 25-60 Steinway St. before moving it to its current location at 28-12 Steinway St. several years later, said she has decided to shutter for several reasons, citing rising bills and shrinking business in recent years.
“The business just got very, very slow, and now it’s gotten even slower. It’s very difficult,” Jannelli said. “Now, between Con Edison and real estate taxes, everything has gotten so expensive.”
At its peak, She Goes To Your Head, the first unisex salon to open in Astoria, employed 14 stylists and opened from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. However, due to a downturn in business, the salon now employs just four stylists and operates between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. between Thursday and Sunday.
Jannelli cited several factors for the slowdown in business, including a number of closures on Steinway St. that reduced foot traffic in the area and a number of her regular customers moving out of the neighborhood.
Despite the difficulties that caused the recent slowdown, however, Jannelli only decided to close She Goes To Your Head last month after receiving a casual offer for the building where the salon is located.
“I didn’t have it up for sale,” Jannelli said. “Someone just came in and made a passing offer, and I thought, “Okay, maybe it’s time.”
Photo: Shane O’Brien
She said the past month has been “traumatic” since she decided to sell the building and close the salon, adding that she is actively looking for a suitable location that will allow her to open a smaller version of the salon.
Jannelli said she has “no regrets” about closing down after 47 years on Steinway St., stating that the half-century in business has been nothing but fun.
“I had fun. I enjoyed it,” Jannelli said. “We celebrated every holiday. We decorated really big for every holiday, and we just had fun. We had great Christmas parties. It was a fun place to work.”
Jannelli has formed a close bond with her staff and clients over the years and views many customers as family. Some customers first visited She Goes To Your Head ahead of their weddings in the 1970s and still frequent the salon today, many of them bringing their children and grandchildren.
“I feel bad for my clients because so many of them are like family, and my staff is just wonderful.”
A number of long-time customers visited the salon on Thursday afternoon for one final appointment before it closes for good on Saturday.
Tony Lichvarik, who first visited the salon when he was 14, remarked that he has been regularly getting his haircut at the Steinway St. establishment for the past 40 years.
“I think I was around 14, and I was walking down the street with two of my buddies,” Lichvarik said. “Walking by, we saw a new place opened up. We looked inside, saw these beautiful young girls and we’re like, ‘goodbye, Joe’ (his former barber).”
Lichvarik said he has since moved to Maspeth but regularly journeyed to Steinway St. for appointments at the salon.
Photo: Shane O’Brien
Pamela Vendome, who lived in Astoria around the time that She Goes To Your Head opened, regularly commutes from her current home in Whitestone; such is the bond that has formed between customers and stylists.
“Everyone has good memories,” Vendome said. “I wish I could go back in time.”
Patrick Zic, meanwhile, has also been frequenting the salon since he was a teenager. He said he holds a deeply personal connection to the establishment as it played a major role in his wedding day. Zic recalled that his wife had her hair done in the salon on the morning of their wedding while dressed in her wedding dress before scooting off in a limousine for the ceremony.
Zic said he hopes Jannelli finds a new location to operate the salon, stating that the staff are like a family to him.
“This is more than just haircutting,” Zic said. “This is like a therapy place or a bar. I mean, this place really is just like a family.”
It is not just the customers who boast a life-long connection to the salon; several of the remaining stylists have worked there for 30 years or more.
Jannelli is encouraging customers and staff members, past and present, to stop into the salon on Saturday to say goodbye, with glasses of wine on offer after 4 p.m.
