By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Rana's New Generation hair salon in Niles has been chosen as one of five finalists in a nationwide extreme salon makeover contest.
The winner of the contest which is sponsored by Takara/Belmont, a company that supplies beauty supply equipment, will receive a $25,000 salon makeover, which includes new styling stations, dryers, reception furniture, and design services.
Rana's is located at 525 N. 17th St., Niles and has another location at 409 N. Hickory in South Bend, Ind.
The winner will be chosen by voters who cast their vote online. The community of Niles can help Rana's to win this contest by going to www.behindthechair.com to cast their vote. Voting ends tomorrow, April 8.
Sisters Julie Donohue and Janice Hensel, who co-own the salon, entered the contest after they saw it advertised at the Midwest Beauty show they attended in Chicago.
Rana's has been in Niles for 48 years and the sisters are the third generation of their family to own the business.
Hensel added that the hydraulic chairs, dryers and styling stations were of course new when the salon was started, but they are definitely showing their age now.
The bases of the chairs have been painted and are now chipping, the seats have been covered once but the fabric is stained and torn. The formica on the counters is faded and chipping and they are just falling apart. And finally the flooring looks outdated and has several patches.
The sisters' grandmother Rana Steiner, founded the business in a house on Ferry Street in 1957, and she was active in the business until 1998. Her son Pat White, owned and operated the business with his wife Gail for over 30 years, until the sisters purchased it.
Since taking over the salon in January of 2004 the sisters decided to change the name from Rana's Hair Fashions to Rana's New Generation, as part of their plan to service clients of all ages.
The sisters also share a vision for what their salon could look like and how they could improve their services by having a state of the art salon.
Rana's offers services beyond the typical hair cutting, stying, perming and coloring, they also offer tanning, manicures, pedicures and therapeutic massages. They also offer a separate men's Division.
The sisters also hope for the support from the community. "We have been a long standing business here in the community for almost 50 years," Hensel said. "We try to give back to the community anyway we can and we think this is a great way for the community to show its support for a local business."
To cast your vote for Rana's New Generation go to www.behindthechair.com by April 8.