Longtime Pacific Beach business Empire Beauty Supply and Salon is in the process of relocating from its location it has called home for the last 26 years at 1660 Garnet Ave., east of CVS.
The salon will soon move to its new location across the street to the property that once housed Pacific Coast Bicycles at 1637 Garnet Ave.
Empire Beauty Supply’s move is in response to the remodeling and property swaps at the shopping center on the north side of the 1600 block of Garnet Avenue. The remodel will mean Staples will move two doors east to the present CVS store location, while CVS will consolidate that same site with its other store just east at Pacific Plaza. “We were told last October or November that the shopping center would be remodeled and that our lease would expire after June 30,” said Empire Beauty Supply owner Bryce Goldman. “Other than that, we weren’t given any other information on the lease.”
Goldman said he feels that the new location will have more of a superstore- and enhanced-salon feel because it will grow to 4,500 square feet, compared to the present location. He said Empire Beauty will also have adequate parking for its customers (14 spaces in the front, five in the back), with a plan to create a second entrance/exit at the back of the store. There is also a plan in the works for Joy Max Cleaners, located at 1609 Garnet Ave., to move to 1637 Garnet.
Goldman’s grandfather, Irv, started Empire Beauty Supply and Salon in 1945 and ran the business into the early 1970s until Irv’s son, Rick Goldman, took over until 1995. Goldman then handed over the reins over to his son, Bryce.
“We want our customers to know that we’ll be open for business the entire time and hope to be finished moving in by early June with a grand opening on July 1, so both stores might co-exist for a couple of weeks,” Goldman said.