A Salon and Saloon Blossoms in Scarsdale

While many businesses closed their doors during the pandemic, one innovative and brave young woman opened hers. Undaunted by the shutdown, Danielle Settembre used the quiet months of the pandemic to plan and build not just a hair salon, but a saloon as well.

The daughter of restauranteurs, and a trained stylist, Settembre set out to combine her skills in hair and skin care with her hospitality know-how gained while growing up with a family owned business.

Before the pandemic, she searched for a venue for her own operation, while working at the Elizabether Arden Red Door spa at the Westchester. She initially rented space in Mamaroneck but when that fell through she spotted an available storefront on Scarsdale Avenue that was formerly the site of an insurance agency. She fell in love with the ivy covered exterior and patio and signed a lease for the space in March 2020, just weeks before the fateful shutdown. In her words, “A week later the Red Door filed bankruptcy, and then Covid hit. So basically I was unemployed during a major pandemic. All construction was stopped.” She kept afloat by doing in home appointments for her clients while she worked on the build out of the salon.

Construction didn’t resume until July 2020 and her Hair Saloon & Cafe™ was able to open in September 2020, with a socially distanced layout to meet health department standards.

To ensure that her clients were comfortable getting their hair washed she spent extra time planning the hair washing station. She said, “I really wanted to make sure the clients are comfortable. And I really didn’t want sinks that hurt their necks either. I didn’t mind spending a little extra on the massage chairs that massage your full back while you get your hair washed. I drove a sixteen foot truck to pick up the chairs an hour away.”

Settembre has a bachelor’s degree in business and trained at L’Oréal academy in Paris. She’s worked alongside French celebrity stylist Odile Gilbert and is an ambassador for the global hair care product line, Kerastase. She’s worked with some of the biggest names in fashion backstage during New York City and Paris fashion week where she mastered precision cutting and color techniques on runway models.

She recruited some of her former colleagues at the Red Door and the salon offers haircuts, blow dries, hair dye along with facials, full body wax, eyebrow tint, micro blading, microdermabrasion and they have the newest equipment for a hydrafacial treatment. They use some of same products as the Red Door including Wella, Redken and an organic color line as well. They do balayage, highlights, mens’ cuts, kids’ cuts, keratin treatments and offer bright, fun hair dye colors too.

About her team, she explained, “We are all women here, which I love, although we do have lots of male clients as well. The women working here are all different ages and nationalities. It’s a diverse group that caters to everyone and knows about different hair types. We are all vax’d and boostered here and the salon is a Covid safe and spacious place.”

Turning to the drinks and food, Settembre explained, “It took me a year to get a liquor license and I had the Westchester Health Department in here to get permits. Then I created an elaborate drinks menu, a cocktail list with lots of skinny drinks that are low calorie but strong.

Honey I’m Not Coming Home is the most popular—it’s a mix of fresh honey, tequila and fresh lime. Since I am also serving food, I had to figure out what my locals would like to eat. I found out that people are super health conscious and foodies at the same time. I decided to use Buon Amici down the road for my sandwiches which is also great for giving back and supporting each other within this community. A lot of people like the Hungry Hungry panini. We also have a vegan wrap. We try to cater to food allergies and restrictions.”

Settembre is grateful for her reception in Scarsdale. She said, “I feel lucky that this community has been super supportive of women-owned and small businesses. Having this business in Scarsdale is a beautiful thing. We have close relationships with our clients and they support us by telling their friends and writing positive reviews on social media.”

The Hair Saloon and Café is located at 862 Scarsdale Avenue in Scarsdale. They are open Tuesday-Sunday. Reach them at 914-881-1233 and check them out at https://hairsaloonandcafe.com/