The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Shoppes at Pierce Street now offers a full-service family salon, with the addition of a Fantastic Sams.
Surrounded by friends and family members, shop owner Vivek Patil cut the ribbon at the Oct. 12 grand opening of the salon, located at 149 Pierce St.
Patil said a desire to leave the corporate life he’d led for years drove him to look at a number of different business opportunities.
“I felt the salon industry is fairly stable and that serves my needs better, and I can do some community service here with the business,” he said. “That was the idea behind it.”
After talking to a handful of hair salon franchises, Patil decided to go with Fantastic Sams.
Founded in Missouri in 1971, the chain has grown to more than 1,500 stores nationwide. The company was purchased in 2011 by France-based Dessange International upon the retirement of founder Sam Ross.
The sale to Dessange “gives us a much broader product line,” Patil said.
Patil said he chose the Franklin location because he would regularly drive through the township on his way from his Bridgewater home to his corporate job, and he noticed that there was not a full-service family salon in the area.
“I thought this would be a good area to start the business because there are a lot of corporate people here, and on the other side we have a lot of residences,” he said. “So that’s a good combination of people to serve.”
In addition to the basic wash and cut, Fantastic Sams offers services such as grey blending color for men at $35, children’s cuts for $12 and special occasion styling.
Patil said he currently employs three stylists, but will increase that number to eight. He also holds licenses for two more Fantastic Sams locations, which he said will opened in the next few years.
Fantastic Sams hours are Mondays through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We try to be there all the time when the customer wants to come in,” Patil said.
