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Business & Tech

Downtown Salon Owner Reflects on 25 Years of Hair — and Community Involvement

Eugenia's in Rochester celebrates a milestone year.

There’s the interview. And then there’s sitting on the front porch of Eugenia’s 3rd Street Hair Gallery with the woman herself, Eugenia Bajorek.

Sitting on bright yellow daffodil-colored chairs, watching her greet each customer by name, it becomes more like an inspiration.

After 25 years on the corner, Bajorek has a lot of stories to tell.

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She got her start at The Shag Shop on the campus of . She was living in Shelby Township, taking classes and trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

“And here I am, 25 years later,” she said with a laugh.

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When The Shag Shop closed, Bajorek worked in a Rochester salon for a year until she found her current location at the corner of Third and Pine streets.

“It was perfect,” Bajorek said. “It was one of the oldest hair salons in Rochester, with the salon and a kitchen downstairs and three bedrooms upstairs. That made it my bed-and-bread.”

Of course, the three bachelors occupying the rooms had to go, and they did, grudgingly. Bajorek and her then-teenage daughter, Kris, moved in and set up shop. The year was 1986.

The beginning

Bajorek opened her salon without a business plan. Although she had years of experience cutting hair, she had never run a business. In her typical low-key way, she told me, “It was a challenge.”

With some remodeling work — adding walls and a restroom, getting rid of the lime green — Bajorek was ready for business. Her second challenge was getting people to leave Main Street to find her.

But people did find her.

“I like to say we offer hair care in a relaxed setting,” Bajorek said. Then she added with a wink, “I also like to say, we don’t gossip, we network.”

Wanting to do more

As business grew, so did Bajorek’s desire to do more. “As a business person, I always wanted to be active in the community,” she said.

With that desire and a personal love of art, Bajorek decided to use the salon’s wall space to display the work of local artists. And so, with the art already in place, Eugenia’s became a stop on the .

Bajorek’s community involvement doesn’t end with the Gallery Stroll. As an active member and former president of the Rochester Kiwanis, Bajorek takes part in fundraising activities such as the Simply Soup Supper, Music in the Park and Arts and Apples.

But there is one community activity that remains near and dear to Bajorek’s heart: at . This fundraising tradition for the nature center was her brainchild.

“The daffodil sale is something I’m really happy about,” Bajorek said. "Everyone takes part— kids make posters, businesses take part, residents end up with these beautiful springtime flowers."

She laughed. “My ideas aren’t always that good."

The city must have been impressed. It named her a "Hometown Hero" in 2003.

The next generation

Bajorek's daughter, Kris Liebzeit, eventually went to cosmetology school and has been doing hair beside her mom for 23 years.

“She’s really good,” Bajorek told me. “One of the best things has been being able to work next to Kris.”

Liebzeit took over the business, and Bajorek now works part time. “I love it that she’s the boss now,” Bajorek told me.

But even more than that, Bajorek still loves her job. “I enjoy cutting hair, making friendships. It’s more than cutting hair — they become part of my life, and I become part of theirs.”

Eugenia's 3rd Street Hair Gallery is located at 212 W. Third St. Call 248-656-0560.

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