Page 36 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2016

PEOPLE the salon experience celebrates 30 years
of making Coast residents beautiful
story by Ed Lepoma and Kelsey Sunderman photos by John Stricklin and courtesy of Chuck Kelly
Like so many of us, Chuck Kelly looks back at a 30-year career and is amazed by how quickly the time has gone by. Chuck Kelly Salon and Spa in Gulfport is celebrating 30 years in the beauty industry, and looks forward to continuing to provide the Coast with excellent service for years to come. Today, his salon continues to serve long-time clients who have been with him from the start, while still attracting new clients from all around. The salon, located on Courthouse Road, has won the Coast Observer’s Covey Award as the premier salon on the Gulf Coast for the past 3 consecutive years. With 30 years under its belt, Chuck Kelly Salon has created a legacy and raised the bar for the Coast’s salon experience standards.
The salon owner, Chuck Kelly, was born in Hattiesburg, MS, and moved with his family to Gulfport shortly thereafter. Growing up, he attended Bayou View Elementary and Middle School and graduated from Gulfport High School at the age of 16. Because his
parents thought he was too young to go away to college, he attended Chris’ Beauty College where his dad was involved. He completed the course but didn’t take the state test. “I went to Ole Miss for a while but came home and attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College when my dad’s health started failing,” Kelly recalls. “I did haircuts for friends. Jheri Ellis saw these haircuts around town and told me I should do it for a living.” Kelly then took the state board and apprenticed under Jheri Ellis —a Coast icon in the beauty industry.
Kelly opened his first salon in downtown Gulfport in 1986, and relocated to Courthouse Road adjacent to the S.F. Alman building 3 years later. He operated there until 2001 when he built his current salon. Locally renowned stylist, Tanya Tancredi, apprenticed under Kelly from 1988 to
1989 before opening her own shop in downtown Gulfport, which she recently sold. “He is an amazing guy, and one of the best in the business, and I have worked in London and New York,” said Tancredi. “He was a great mentor and his attention to detail is amazing. He puts in long hours each day, but every client gets his upmost attention.” Over the years, Kelly has not only dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his clients and apprentices, but to his children Charlie, 27, and Claire, 24, as well.
Catherine Riemann has been a client of Kelly’s for the 30 years that he has been in business. “I like to say it’s the longest relationship I’ve had with one man,” Riemann joked. “I went to him when he opened his first shop in Gulfport, a one-chair salon in a tiny house behind where the Island View Casino is now, and I’ve followed him to every location since. He is just fabulous and so talented, and he keeps up with current trends. ” Riemann praised Kelly’s attention to providing expert consultations for each client and instilling his staff to provide the same detail.
“He’s also a great corporate citizen and does a lot to
Chuck Kelly