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In the Stop & Shop Plaza on Route 6 in Somerset, the Daniel & Company hair salon is empty. And it’s been that way for two months.
Margaret Daniel owns the salon. Even though there aren’t any customers, Daniel goes to her business everyday just to be there. It’s where she’s been working for 34 years.
“It’s just so sad people are dying to get back in [the salon],” Daniel said. “Some of my older people who are stuck in a 10 by 10 foot room now going on nine weeks. It’s just breaking my heart on every level.”
Beginning Memorial Day, Governor Charlie Baker announced that hair salons, among other businesses, can open if a slew of safety measures are met. It includes separating chairs six feet apart, removing magazines from tables, and adjusting worker’s shifts.
Daniel says the measures are overkill, but at this point, she’ll do whatever it takes to reopen.
“If I lose the business, I lose my home,” Daniel said. “So we’re really on the edge of either pulling it off or not in 34 years, and it’s not in my control.”
Daniel says at 66-years old, she’s now preparing to work 70 hours a week in order to see enough clients under the guidelines in order to make ends meet.
She says it’s the only thing she can do to protect her business and her employees.
