Evelyn Dickerson Hair Design has offered haircuts and styling services to the city of Kent for over 70 years, and now, they will move to continue in downtown Kent off East Erie Street. 

Carley Kruse, owner of Evelyn Dickerson Hair Design, said the salon originally started in the basement of the current The Cleveland Bagel Cafe off East Main Street, and it later moved into a building on South Water Street.

Kruse has owned the salon for the past 20 years, and before that, she worked for Evelyn Dickerson herself. 

“There was an Evelyn Dickerson at one time, and I started working for her while I was waiting to take my state boards,” Kruse said.

When Dickerson retired, her daughter took over the salon. After Dickerson passed away, her daughter decided to retire and put the salon up for sale, Kruse said.

Kruse said she heard about the salon being for sale while she was living in New York, and she decided to purchase it. Her husband offered to sustain the business end of operations.

“I commuted for six months back and forth until I moved back [to Ohio],” Kruse said. “He actually still remained in New York for two years and didn’t really help with the business.”

After 70 years of operation, the salon has been able to see generations of families come through. 

“We have got an incredible client base,” Kruse said. “When I started there were women that were coming in every week, then their children came in and then their grandchildren.”

Kruse said part of the reason for this unwavering support is due to the values the salon continues to uphold. 

“We are very customer service oriented, it is huge for us,” Kruse said. “We always have someone greeting the clients. On a rainy day we would walk clients to their cars. We make sure we get people in when they need it.”

Additionally, the salon is very focused on giving back to the community, Kruse said. They often partner with the Ben Curtis Family Foundation and the Portage Animal Protective League.

The salon also partners with Maplewood Career Center and Kent Roosevelt High School and takes interns from both locations. 

“Some of my best stylists started as interns, which is unreal,” Kruse said.

Making the move

After the original building the salon was located in was sold, Kruse said the new owner wanted to go in a different direction.

The process for finding a new location for the salon was not an easy one, Kruse said. 

“I was looking, and nothing came available that was going to suit our needs,” Kruse said. “I wanted to stay in Kent. We are a Kent salon.”

Then something became available downtown and Kruse was able to sign a new lease in November. Now, the salon is moving to a location on 175 E. Erie St. Handcrafted, a gift shop that closed in 2021, used to occupy the space. 

“It was a last minute find,” Kruse said. “We have some construction going on. Unfortunately, we are very customer service oriented, it is huge for us,” Kruse said. “We always have someone greeting the clients. On a rainy day we would walk clients to their cars. We make sure we get people in when they need it. We have a little time now where we are in limbo, we are closed.”

Kruse said the goal is for the new salon to open in early February, with the new building providing a good space for the salon to continue operation. 

“It’s a new space, it’s got the industrial feel about it,” Kruse said. “We are going to have a lot more room in there.”

With the new location, Kruse said they will continue to do hair, nails and waxing, and the salon will be able to add more waxing options, lashes and eyebrow treatments. 

“I think I love it more now than ever,” Kruse said. 

Olivia Montgomery is a digital tech. You can contact her at [email protected].