Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 29, 1994 TAG: 9403290158
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``We will be back.''
Today, she will made good on that pledge, reopening a twice-as-big Hair Is salon at 2729 Melrose Ave. N.W.
Over the four months it has taken to reopen, Preston said, she has ``cried so many times, gotten mad so many times. It all happened so slowly.''
Preston was worried that being out of business so long would be costly. The salon's practice of offering free condoms to customers drew attention - and some criticism - last fall. She wondered, though, if people would forget about her 9-year-old business if her doors were closed too long.
It turns out she didn't need to worry. In the four months she was closed, her customers and employees didn't forget. It was the customers, mainly, who put together an open house Sunday. About 75 of them showed up for a dedication ceremony, refreshments and a chance to see the remodeled shop.
With the remodeling, Preston was able to add styling chairs, sinks and dryers, but it was the playroom for customers' children that really drew oohs and aahs.
She had noticed a need to accommodate children when she was involved in the condom controversy before the fire. Preston, in cooperation with a civic action group, had begun making condoms openly available to her customers at no charge.
``There were so many babies coming in here with babies,'' she said. ``I'm not promoting teen-age sexuality, but they're doing it anyway. This was a way to help protect them from catching AIDS or having babies so young.''
The idea apparently didn't sit well with some people who read about it last fall, though. Preston said she got hate mail about the condom distribution, and someone littered her yard with condoms.
When her business burned in November, fire officials suspected arson. She thought someone who was upset about the condoms might be responsible. No one has been charged with starting the fire.
Preston said she also got support for the condom program, though - including an anonymous $100 donation from someone who urged her to ``keep up the good work.''
This time around, the condom distribution will be more discreet, Preston said. ``We're working with the health department ... and there will be literature available, too.''
Customer after customer Sunday testified to her caring approach to her clients.
Preston ``is a wonderful person,'' said Myra Godfrey of Iron Gate. ``There's no such thing as `I can't' or `I won't' in her vocabulary.'' Preston bends over backward to accommodate people, Godfrey said.
Her husband, the Rev. DeLawrence Godfrey, opened the festivities with a reading from Psalms and a prayer for God's blessing on the business.
That's something Preston is praying for, too. She had insurance on the business, but it covered only about a third of the $75,000 remodeling cost, she said. The rest she paid with a loan that has her home as collateral.
by CNB