Seven months after a wayward driver turned her hair salon into an unwanted drive-through, Jessica Baker is back in business.
Divas Hair Boutique was opened for customers again on Tuesday, almost exactly seven months since she was phoned on Jan. 6 and told that a woman had lost control of her car on nearby Riverview Drive and slammed through the front of the business she had run for more than five years.
The front of the shop next to Burger Boy at 6007 54th Avenue was completely demolished. Adding to the devastation was an overnight temperature of -35 C, which froze and fractured water pipes and hair product containers.
Cleanup and repairs were expected to take weeks, but insurance and permitting red tape delayed the project.
Fortunately in the meantime, Baker and her staff were offered space at Red Room Salon at 80 Donlevy Ave., a helping hand for which she is deeply grateful.
On Wednesday, Baker was thrilled with her new and improved shop, which she jokingly dubs Divas 2.0.
“I feel absolutely ecstatic,” she said. “My girls are beyond ecstatic,” she says, referring to her five staff.
Bringing back Divas from the wreckage proved a daunting task for Jessica and husband and co-owner Ben.
“It was a huge ordeal,” she said. Eventually, Ben and his brother Jesse, owner of Terra Firma Concrete Services, rolled up their sleeves and rebuilt the shop themselves.
Besides getting a beautiful new shop, Baker found another silver lining to having the misfortune of having her store turned into a parking stall.
“Any publicity is good publicity,” she said with a laugh. “At least it gets people talking.”
Divas is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed Sundays.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com