by Jessica Carreras
Want a haircut? Go to Fantastic Sams. But for a beauty experience unlike any other, there's Maalouf Salon.
Nestled in a complex on Old Woodward Avenue in Birmingham's bustling business district, Maalouf is hip, bright and industrial, with open ceilings and natural light streaming in from the storefront, composed almost entirely of windows.
The staff is clad mostly in black. Modern – yet subdued – dance music pipes in overhead.
From nails to hair and make-up, Maalouf offers the entire shebang – plus an added ingredient: passion.
"We want to be more than just a salon," gushes Elie Maalouf, who runs the nine-month-old business with his three brothers – George, Johnny and Joey.
Elie does make up, Johnny cuts hair and Joey and George do business. Raised in Detroit by parents who immigrated from Lebanon, Elie is the only gay one of the family, although Johnny insists, "Everyone always thinks I'm gay because I do hair."
Elie and George spent over a decade living in New York City, while the former worked as a freelance make-up artist. And though he still does odd celebrity jobs from time to time, Elie insists that he wanted something more out of life.
"This is our passion and we wanted to come out with a product; we have our own cosmetic product line at this moment, but we wanted to be able to grow with it," he explains. "We want to sell online. We want to be able to financially be comfortable enough to sell products, but also to be able to use our company to create a good environment.
"It's something that's fun; something that looks upscale but is for the everyday person."
Moreover, Elie says he wants to showcase just how wonderful it is to be a business owner in metro Detroit. To accomplish that, Maalouf Salon will be the setting for a new show on local TV channel MBN, which is geared toward Middle-Eastern Americans. The show will offer beauty tips and interviews with local celebrities. This past weekend, Miss Michigan 2009 made an appearance on the show, talking about her on-stage beauty ritual.
It's the Maalouf family's hope that the show will not only boost their salon, but the entire area. "We want to be able to create a new energy and new environment, and we want to be able to show people that you can be in Detroit … and with hard work and patience and direction, you can actually achieve (success) anywhere," Elie says. "I feel like our success is something that inspires us, so I feel like that energy just spreads."
"We want to do something new; we want to be innovative. We want to excite our staff," he adds. "And our clients feel that. It's not perfect all the time – you know, I feel different every damn day when I wake up – but … I like coming here."
To schedule an appointment, call 248-647-1111.
