By Dave Matlow
The Hair Place, 625 Post Road East, in the shopping center anchored by The Fresh Market, will close by July 31, after almost 44 years in the same location, according to owner Betty Cabral.
Betty Cabral: “We love this town, we love this community,” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
“Our rent has gone up and, for the first time, they’re adding common charges for parking, shrubbery and things like that,” she said. “So this is my time to stop. But this is my home, this is my family, it’s where I come every day.
“We have loyal, long time clients, some who are now in the third generation. We cut their grandchildren’s hair.”
Long relationships are not just with customers, she said. “One of our stylists, Lynn, has been here for 35 year,” she said. “She’s a grandmother now.”
Cabral said her life revolves around her business.
“My staff, clients and friends, they saw me through tough times such as when my husband, Joe, died on July 11, 1983 at 45 years of age and my mother died the next day,” she said. Her children Susan and Kevin were 15 and 13 at the time, she said.
Born in Westport and a life long resident, Cabral said her church has played an important role in her life.
“My parents were married at Assumption Church,” she said. “I was married at Assumption, and my children were married at Assumption.”
Cabral said it’s been a long love affair with Westport. “We love this town, we love this community,” she said. “I thank my staff, friends and clients for going through the ups and downs with me.”
The closing has brought customers to tears. “One long time customer was here the other day,” she said. “She came to me at the desk. She was crying and told me ‘I can’t believe you’re closing.’”
Cabral, who taught business education at Rippowam High School in Stamford before joining her husband in the business in 1969, said she wants to get involved with the schools again, maybe as a volunteer.
What a shame! Another instance of Westport losing its community relationships. Mrs. Cabral as I have called her for years and her family have been a special part of my life and the lives of so many Westporters. What can the community do to stop the erosion of the businesses and services offered by our residents? It will forever change the quality of life in what I continue to call the “magical town of Westport”.
Mrs Cabral, all the best.
Al Beasley
This is a loss to many Westporters who have come to think of The Hair Place as part of their lives, and as part of what makes Westport the town that it is. Dr. Beasley’s observation raises the question of what will Westport become in the years ahead. At any rate, please count me among those—and surely there are many—who wish the very best to (and will miss) Betty and all the other good and kind people who have taken care of the hair of three generations of Westporters in a place where all who have been have felt at home.