By By KATHIE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Fifty years is an accomplishment, whether it is a wedding anniversary or a business anniversary.
The 50th anniversary of a family business, however, is even more rare.
Rana's New Generation is celebrating the 50th anniversary of being a Niles mainstay. They have planned a variety of specials and events throughout the year to celebrate.
Rana Steiner first opened her hair salon in 1957 on Ferry Street.
"She had not even graduated at that time. She purchased the business and then hired others to work until she did. The first location was followed by many others, in Niles. It was a busier community then, and so it supported more than one of our salons. At one time we had 10 locations, the furthest being Lafayette, Ind. Today, we have our 17th Street location and one on Edison Road in South Bend," said granddaughter Juli Donohue, who now serves as business manager for the salons.
Her sister, Janis Hansel, is the hairdresser, following in their father, Pat White, and grandmother Steiner's footsteps.
White joined the business in 1963 and took over ownership of the Niles locations from 1974 to 2004. Steiner did not retire from the South Bend location until she was nearing her 80th birthday.
"Rana always worked all dressed up and in high heels. She was a visionary who believed there was the Rana way and the wrong way," Donohue said.
The Niles location offers tanning and massage, does pedicures and plans to begin offering artificial nails and makeup in the future. The girls took over the Niles location from their father in 2004, after taking ownership of the South Bend location in 1998.
"Everything has changed but the customer service and commitment. Two years ago the Niles location won a complete makeover from behindthechair.com. Takara-Belmont called for essays for why a salon should receive a $25,000 makeover. We still had some of the original equipment. People in Niles, like Lisa Croteau, sent out emails to their friends and told them to vote for us. We ended up with twice as many votes as the second place and won the totally new equipment," Donohue said.
Rana's New Generation will continue to offer a variety of hair specials throughout the month.