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From the time she opened her first shop, Gladys’ House of Hair Design, off Bristol Street and Randolph Avenue in 1977, Gladys Olmedo has maintained a steady business in Costa Mesa.
In her 20s, and pregnant with her second child, Olmedo steadily built a base of satisfied clients who came to her for coloring and styles that would transition over the years, from shag cuts to feathered bangs to Brazilian blowouts.
“I never took a vacation for 24 years I went without taking vacations,” said Olmedo, an Estancia High School graduate. “I had to provide for my kids, and I did it through the beauty salon, just doing hair.”
Costa Mesa throws $2M lifeline to restaurants and personal care businesses
Service workers in a Dec. 7 protest in Costa Mesa said state stay-at-home orders would harm restaurants and personal care service providers. Last week, the city approved a bridge grant program for small business owners in those sectors.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
To support local restaurants and personal care services, businesses hardest hit by the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, Costa Mesa is starting a small business bridge grant program that aims to help proprietors survive until new federal stimulus funds arrive.
City Council members recently approved taking $1.995 million from the declared disasters reserve fund to implement a three-phased assistance program for independent restaurateurs and the owners of local nail and hair salons and other by-appointment services.