Driving through Mt. Pleasant from his Indian Head home to his Forest Hills salon, Anthony Fazio said that he fell in love with the Main Street area and everything else about the borough.
“I just really love Mt. Pleasant,” Fazio said. “I would drive through here and think what a really, really nice place this is.”
Fazio has owned and operated Fazio's Hair Designs for more than 20 years in the Allegheny County borough, and he said he wanted to open a second location in a different area.
The shop is located on the Diamond along Main Street in the borough's downtown area.
“I had been looking to open another site, and I felt that Mt. Pleasant would be perfect,” Fazio said.
Following in the footsteps of his sister, Rosanna Fazio, who is also a barber, Fazio attended the Pittsburgh Barber School and received his certification to teach.
He then also attended Pittsburgh Beauty Academy, where he received a second teaching certification.
At age 19, Fazio opened his first salon in Penn Hills, he said, before moving on five years later to his present site.
Fazio's fiancée and stylist Michelle Liscio will be managing the Mt. Pleasant location, she said, and she is thrilled to be open and ready to start meeting clients from the area.
“This is a really nice location for us,” Liscio said. “We saw this site and said that it would be a great fit for us.”
The local salon covers 3,000 square feet, and it features numerous hair stations, a color mixing station, a separate and private pedicure room and another site dedicated to facials.
The salon also offers massages, waxing, ear candling and a full line of services for customers of all ages. There is also a private area for those being fitted with hair pieces and wigs, and another area for shampooing.
“We are a full-service salon,” Liscio said.
The salon will also offer special men's evenings and ladies' night out events, and it will also be offered as a site for wedding parties.
“We plan to cater to wedding parties,” Fazio said. “The bride and her bridesmaids can come in the day of the wedding and get completely pampered. We can do their hair and nails and facials if they like, and they will be in a private area that they can relax in.”
Fazio added that the prenuptial pampering will not end with beautification.
“We will also have champagne for the bride and the girls and appetizers, and then if they like, we will also have someone who can go to the event with them to be of assistance with their hair or make up,” Fazio said.
Liscio said that the indulgent services will not end with the bride, as the salon will also be offer a service called “Grooming the Groom.”
The salon will also offer birthday parties for a different way to celebrate a big day, and the new salon is also completely handicapped accessible.
Borough Mayor Gerald Lucia said he is happy to see the salon move into the borough, and he wishes them well at their new site.
“They seem very excited to be here, and we are excited to have them here,” Lucia said. “We are thrilled that they chose Mt. Pleasant to open their new business and that they want to become a vibrant part of the downtown business area.”
The salon will also be one of the larger employers on Main Street when it is up and fully operational, Fazio said.
He hopes to hire as many as 20 employees to staff the operation, he added.
Featuring all new and state-of-the-art equipment, the salon's bright and airy atmosphere is a great setting to have one's beauty needs met, Fazio said.
He added customers can enjoy a glass of wine and light appetizers at all times.
The salon is now open, and the pair plans to conduct a grand opening celebration within the next month.
“Everyone here has been so wonderful and so nice, and we just love the people here,” Liscio said. “Our goal now is to make everyone as beautiful on the outside as they are in the inside.”
Fazio's Hair Designs is located at 502 W. Main St., and hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Marilyn Forbes is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.
