Salon Monroe ribbon cutting

A ribbon-cutting will take place at Salon Monroe on Friday, Sept. 24, at 2 p.m.

The ribbon-cutting will be overseen by the Chamber of Commerce. The event will mark the grand “reopening” for the salon.

There will be an open house from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. to share the changes and updates to the building with the public.

Salon Monroe is located at 121 W Monroe St. on the north side of the square in Mt. Pleasant.

It’s owned and operated by Karley Dawson.

The journey to opening the salon wasn’t easy for Dawson, as a city ordinance against having tattoo shops on the square prevented her from opening the shop at first.

“I’ve been an aesthetician for 10 years,” Dawson said. “I was in Chicago and Arizona, and then I moved back in 2018. I always had the goal of owning my own business. I went to inquire about properties to buy or rent in town. I was close to signing a lease on one, and then I found out through the city of Mt. Pleasant that I couldn’t get a zoning permit because tattooing was illegal in the business district. So I had two options, I could go to a different town or fight it. So I did.”

After attending numerous City Council meetings and pleading her case, Dawson successfully got the ordinance rewritten, and she was able to purchase the location.

The business is broken into two levels. The bottom is the hair salon. The top half is the tattoo shop.

While the salon is broken into two levels, there are several individual services they offer.

There’s hair styling, lash lifts, eyelash extensions, full body waxing and facials.

On the tattooing side of things, there’s full eyeliner tattooing, lip blushing, powder brow, and microblading. These are considered permanent makeup. There’s also full-body tattooing.

Offering both tattooing and hair services is one of the aspects Dawson feels sets her salon apart from others.

“I think that is what sets us apart from other salons around town,” Dawson said. “I want this [second level] to be just a tattoo shop. I think that makes us unique.”

Comments: hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com