It takes a village Arthur Street location transformed into business hub By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 5:09 PM CDT Friday, Jun. 23, 2023

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This article was published 23/06/2023 (1163 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a matter of minutes, Charles Mulvenna has walked through several micro hair salons, a barbershop and tattoo stations.

“(This space) was completely empty,” he says, passing a sign announcing The Village Salon Studios. “It was in such rough shape.”

Not anymore. More than $2 million in renovations from Alberta investors has transformed 55 Arthur St.’s main floor from derelict to new.

Now, the Exchange District space boasts a salon concept that’s gained traction in western Canada and the United States. Beauticians work in a co-working type environment, advertising their own business and renting a room within a building instead of renting a chair or working for a boss.

Mulvenna, and anyone inside, can bounce from hairstylist to Botox specialist to tattoo artist in The Village — provided they have appointments.

“You get all these… creative people in one spot, and everyone’s kind of doing their own thing,” said Mulvenna, the real estate agent who worked on the project. “(It’s) pretty neat to see.”

The Village’s neon lights, plush chairs and wall décor were not present when Mulvenna toured Fadi Moukhaiber and Ali Meghji through in 2022.

Mulvenna said he realized the building’s potential, but any life at the street-level seemed “a long way away.”

Moukhaiber, 54, was quickly sold on the heritage building.

“I like beautiful things,” he said. “I fell in love with the wood. I fell in love with those beams… You guys have way cooler buildings downtown.”

He’s used to Edmonton, where he owned Dolce Soleil salons before selling. He currently runs Beauty Cult, a beauty supply company.

Winnipeg is a familiar city: Moukhaiber said his business regularly ships to MC College. Plus, he and business partner Meghji — who has a background in the hotel industry — have invested in smaller Manitoba spaces with a similar model to The Village, Moukhaiber added.

“We know that the concept works,” he said.

He hesitated to jump into the business model. It was something he’d seen at tradeshows — Sola Salon Studios, an American company, was touting the model and ever-expanding. Within 20 years, it’s opened more than 600 locations, including in Calgary and the Greater Toronto Area.

“We know that the concept works.”–Fadi Moukhaiber, The Village co-owner

“(I) was like, ‘I have three salons. I’m going to be basically sending my own staff to go run their business, and that’s not a good idea,’” Moukhaiber said. “But I always had it in the back of my mind.”

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Moukhaiber watched hair salons shutter and studio conglomerates like Sola gain popularity.

Several opened in Alberta. Moukhaiber and Meghji, his 47-year-old best friend, decided to take the leap in a less saturated market.

Enter 55 Arthur St. Over the course of a year and a half, the Albertans have funded the 7,500-sq.-ft. main floor’s transformation, working with heritage building requirements and building 25 private studios for rental.

Tenants sign a one-year lease and pay $400 to $600 weekly, depending on the studio, Mulvenna said. Rooms range from 100 to 160 sq. ft. Roughly one-third of the 25 studios are rented, Mulvenna added.

Kayla Pabon, 28, was the first signee. She opened Kayla Pabon Hair in The Village last February.

Prior to, she’d been searching for her own shop.

“I really liked that I could start my own business and have a lower overhead than if I opened a storefront,” Pabon said.

Her next step: hire more hairstylists. Moukhaiber and Meghji mentor each of their tenants; Pabon met with them in February, and, upon them reviewing her finances, she determined she could get staff.

“A lot of people are so scared to start their own business,” Moukhaiber said, adding some stylists have limited business training. “That’s why you see hairstylists being stuck in… a little box.”

“A lot of people are so scared to start their own business… That’s why you see hairstylists being stuck in… a little box.”–Fadi Moukhaiber, The Village co-owner

Pabon has moved into a bigger suite with two extra chairs. She’s found one person to work under her and is searching for another. Meantime, in May, she gained 15 new clients — far exceeding the average two or three, Pabon said.

She attributed some of the growth to people living and working in the neighbourhood.

Maryse Masse, 37, has also hopped suites. She now works in a bigger unit with a close friend.

The entrepreneurs come and go as they please — all have key fobs to open the building and their personal unit.

“I feel like my business will grow a lot more being at The Village, in a way that is manageable with my other full-time jobs,” said Masse, who also styles hair for film projects.

She bumps into fellow entrepreneurs in the hallways. It’s created “a rich culture” in the building that’s led to referrals and client-sharing, she said.

“We wanted to create that community, that everyone felt they were in their own little village,” Moukhaiber explained.

He dreams of opening The Village Salon Studios locations across Canada. For now, he visits Winnipeg regularly and checks in with tenants.

Olivia Dawes works across the street at Toad Hall Toys. She considers The Village a positive for the neighbourhood.

“I feel like the Exchange District needs a little bit more life,” she said. “Every time someone pops up a new store, that makes me very excited.”

The Village Salon Studios takes applications on its website, villagesalonstudios.ca.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com