FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 18, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
Bayside’s Christie & Co. Salon set to reopen
with new social distancing
guidelines in place
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
For fi ve decades, Lois Christie and
the Christie & Co. Salon has been an
award-winning salon in Bayside and
a leader in the beauty industry. Now,
Christie is facing the biggest challenge of
her career.
Th e forced closing of her salon due to
the coronavirus has turned her into an
advocate for salons and barbershops, and
she is calling on the community for help.
“I’ve created a call to action because
we have supported the community for
decades from little leagues, to hospitals, to
nonprofi t organizations, and now we need
them to support us,” said Christie, president
and owner of Christie & Co. Salon.
Christie is encouraging community
members to write to Governor Cuomo,
asking him to allow salons and barbershops
to reopen everywhere. Salons have
been allowed to reopen in Nassau County
under Cuomo’s guidelines, but they
remain closed in Queens, which sits just
four miles away from the Nassau border.
“Does the virus know the diff erence
between Nassau and Queens,” Christie
asked. “We’ve been ready to meet CDC
requirements, but the changing dates and
delays are challenging all small business
owners. It’s our survival that’s at stake.”
Ahead of the reopening, Christie is creating
a salon of the future aft er undergoing
a transformation to comply with the
new social distancing guidelines and prevent
the spread of the virus.
“We now have acrylic dividers between
the 14 sinks and ultraviolet wands to clean
and disinfect the counters and chairs,”
said Christie. “We also have disposable
capes, paper gowns, face shields, and
touch points of hand sanitizers throughout
the salon.”
Additionally, Christie hired an organic
CDC certifi ed disinfecting company that
has cleaned the salon and its air vents,
which will be an ongoing part of the
maintenance of the salon.
To meet the demands of working in a
virtual environment, she is off ering clients
makeover and color consultations
via Zoom. Due to the new guidelines,
appointments will be necessary.
Th e challenge now, Christie said, is fi guring
out how to schedule staff members
and clients, in order to reduce the number
of people that enter the salon.
Her 60 staff members are anxious to get
back to work and upon reopening, they
will receive new uniforms and personal
protective equipment (PPE).
“With common sense approach, we’re
certainly ready and practicing defensive
measures for the safety of our clients and
staff ,” Christie said. “For example, when
you walk in, we will take your temperature
and you must wear a mask. If you
don’t have one, we will provide you with a
mask and it must be on at all times.”
While Christie and her staff are
embracing the new guidelines, she said
she has always taken pride in providing
the “highest degree of sanitation and
hygiene,” even before the pandemic.
“Nobody has the playbook for what’s
happening in the industry right now.
However, when you
start to look at
the basics — our
license and training
as professional
cosmetologists,
estheticians
and nail techs —
we train in sanitation
and hygiene,”
she said. “Th at’s our
team’s basic qualifi -
cations.”
After establishing
Christie & Co.
Salon 50 years ago,
Christie — who
served as the fi rst
female president
of Intercoiffure
America/Canada,
the most prestigious
beauty organization
worldwide
— is preparing
her business to be
a model for what
salons should look
like in the future.
Christie is fi ercely
fi ghting for her
clients and her
staff and is asking
the community to
write to the governor
to allow salons
and barbershops
to reopen.
“We are waiting
like horses in the
gate, ready to run.
Let us out of the
gate, Governor
Cuomo,” Christie
said. We are ready
and compliant.”
Photos by Dean Moses
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
