VACAVILLE, Calif. (KRON) – A Vacaville hair stylist is defying the shelter-in-place order amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, she re-opened her salon to existing clients despite not being an essential business.
KRON4’s Philippe Djegal reports the woman is willing to risk a fine or the possibility of her business being shut down.
Six weeks without working is long enough for Lia Rivera, the owner of Hairendipity Salon in downtown Vacaville.
Her business is considered non-essential and has been closed during the shelter-in-place but Rivera says she can no longer afford to keep clients away.
”It’s a survival tactic at this point,” Rivera said.
On Tuesday, Rivera welcomed back existing clients only despite the Solano County Health Officer extending the shelter-in-place order through May 17th.
By re-opening, Rivera could face a stiff fine and possibly jail time but she believes staying closed would be more costly than getting penalized by the county.
”It costs me about seven grand in overhead to keep the salon going, and then my personal income that I earn as a stylist behind the chair to take home to my family is about equal to that, so we’re talking 15-grand a month that I’m guaranteed to lose. I mean, I think it’s worth taking the risk,” Rivera said.
Her client Stacy Roudebush agrees.
Roudebush is a nurse and has no health reservations about taking an appointment at the salon.
”I’m not concerned because it’s just the two of us, we both have masks on,” Roudebush said.
Nicole Fahey owns True Roots Juice and Eats next door which has been allowed to remain open during the pandemic unlike most of her neighbors.
”All of us down here are pretty much small business owners. So, I sympathize with them everyday,” Fahey said.
As for Rivera, she says she has been unsuccessful so far in applying for small business loans and unemployment.
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