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Hair salon opens in downtown body shop.

By BRIAN GADD, When Sandy Gault-Frick is not cutting hair at Classic Body Shop, she is manager of Classic Body Shop next door in downtown Zanesville.

ZANESVILLE --Who ever heard of a hair salon inside an auto body shop?

Sounds like a crazy idea, a contrast in styles (no pun intended).

But it was right up Sandy Gantt-Frick's alley, and provides her with the best of both worlds.

"I know the one is the bread-winner, and the other gives me some stress release," she said, while welcoming her new stylist, Liz Parmer, into the fold this week.

Gantt-Frick is wearing many hats these days, as she manages both the Classic Body Shop and Downtown Hair Designers, a shop she opened in December.

She's been with Classic Body Shop for more than six years, but she was a hair stylist before that.

"It's something I always liked to do," she said, noting she previously worked at Hairgraphics and Guys-N-Dolls, before switching gears. "And when the space opened up, I thought I would give it a try.

Classic Body Shop previously shared its South Sixth Street building with Enterprise Car Rental. But when Enterprise moved to a Maple Avenue location, the opportunity was hard for Gantt-Frick to pass up.

"I started looking around in here, thought I could put in a couple of work stations, some wash bays," she said. "I ran it by the owner, James George, and he was really supportive."

"She really fixed things up nice in there," George said. "I never thought something like that would work. But when the space opened up, why leave it empty? When Sandy told me what she wanted to do, I told her fine, sounds great."

After months of hand work, she opened the hair salon to little fan fare back on December 10, but has been building business ever since.

"Past clients are coming to see me, and it's been really busy," she said.

So much so that she has courted past co-workers, like Parmer, to join her.

"It's a new and exciting opportunity," said Parmer, a Blue Rock native who has been cutting hair for 23 years. "It feels really intimate, homey here. And I'm booked with clients already."

Gantt-Frick is hoping to attract other stylists, as well.

"We want everyone to come here and feel comfortable," she said. "I want to be real laid back about this. I can leave all of my stress over on the shop floor, and come over and relax."

Although some may scoff at the synergy between a hair salon and an auto body shop, Gantt-Frick said she's already witnessed how one can benefit the other.

"We've had a couple of people come in to pick up their cars. And while waiting, they asked me if they could get their hair cut," she said. "It's a convenience thing."

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