Business owner finds blessings in work, values
Fourteen-year-old Aixa Lewis sat patiently in a chair at Suzzie Jo’s Beauty Salon in Uniontown, where owner/operator Suzzie Jo Saavedra worked diligently to put extensions in her hair.
“It’s very good service, and the turnout is good,” Lewis explained why she travels regularly to Uniontown to have Saavedra work on her hair.
Lewis’ mother, Tiffany Hickenbottom, noted on this recent visit that Saavedra is her cousin, but the reason the family keeps coming back is the results.
“She’s meticulous about her work. She will not send you out unless you are satisfied,” said Hickenbottom.
“She’s a really good hairstylist, and she’s really personable and nice. She takes pride in her work,” said Sean Harris of Uniontown, Saavedra’s uncle who stopped for a visit.
Saavedra, 40, responded, “I feel very blessed. You can’t make people come to your salon, so the fact they are coming is an honor.”
In fact, many travel quite a distance to sit in Saavedra’s salon chairs. She has clients who come from Pittsburgh and West Virginia and noted a client flew in from Texas every three months for two years to get a weave.
“It took me a while to get off the ground, but once I did, I’ve been here for 17 years,” said Saavedra.
A native of Tower Hill in Redstone Township, Saavedra was raised by her grandparents, Clement and Josephine Wynn, until she came to Uniontown at age 16 to live with her uncle, Bishop Leonard Tucker, pastor of New Beginning Full Gospel Church, and his wife, Lynette Tucker.
Saavedra said her family taught her many life lessons “about integrity and character, and how to treat people by being honest and decent. Take care of people because they are, in turn, going to take care of you.”
Saavedra graduated from Uniontown Area High School in 1993 and Uniontown Beauty Academy in 1994. After finishing the program, she worked two-and-a-half years at Boulevard Beauty Salon on Gallatin Avenue with Barbara Johns before starting her own business.
Always called Suzzie Jo’s Beauty Salon, Saavedra worked five years in her home before opening a shop on Main Street. She became a licensed instructor in cosmetology in 2000, receiving training from Pittsburgh Beauty Academy. She moved the salon back to her home after businessman Joe Hardy purchased the building in 2005, the same year that Saavedra married her husband, Keno Saavedra. Saavedra’s family also includes two sons, Jeffrey A. Jenkins II, 21, a student at Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, and Joaquin Saavedra, 3.
In 2009, the Saavedras moved the salon into its current location at 62 W. South St. after completing renovations to the building they purchased in 2006.
De’Ja Dennis of Uniontown has been working with Saavedra in the salon for four years.
“I love it. I learn a lot from her. She’s a good teacher,” said Dennis.
Dennis’ grandmother and client Dorcas Minor was also having her hair done this day.
“I’ve known Suzzie quite a few years. She’s a beautiful person and terrific in doing hair,” said Minor.
The Saavedras also own Keno’s Hawaiian Shave Ice, which is located at 40 W. South St. in Uniontown, and is open summers.
In addition, Suzzi Jo Saavedra is a Sabika jewelry consultant and Keno Saavedra works for Federal Express.
“We are a working family,” Saavedra said with a smile.
The Saavedras moved to Pittsburgh last year but keep close ties to Uniontown. Saavedra opens her salon Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays but the family is also in Uniontown Sundays to attend church services.
“I love Uniontown. I love serving my community,” said Saavedra, who has used her salon as a cookie exchange to raise money for the East End United Community Center and is participating in the NAACP Youth Choir Reunion on June 14 that will also benefit the center. Keno’s Hawaiian Shave Ice also donates its services to the annual East End Community Days.
Saavedra also estimated that 15 to 20 high school girls have come into her shop through the years to work on their senior projects.
She believes three of them are now working in the field.
Saavedra shares her knowledge of the business with the students, saying they learned, “There’s more to hair than standing behind the chair.”
Hickenbottom believes Saavedra is a good role model: “One hundred percent – not only to children but to adults. When she sets goals, she tries to achieve them.”
Asked what she enjoys about her business, Saavedra said, “The customers. I love the conversations between me and my clients. They teach me things. I teach them things. I love the women.”
She noted, “I’m very proud of providing services to the women in my community.”
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