Despite Struggles, Local Businesswoman Prevails

Nobody ever said starting a successful small business was easy, but one local businesswoman has proven that she can, multiple times over. 

Originally from Russia, Yelena  Reich moved to New York at 19.  Her first job was working for her father, owner of Roberto's Barber Shop at 20 Camp Avenue.  

By 23, she knew she had to have her own place, and found it at 389 Merrick Avenue.  The sellers were a couple who had started their beauty shop business  30 years before. They agreed to owner-finance, and Reich became the owner of Headliners for the next eight years.

"It was a beautiful, sweet time, a dream for me," Reich said. But the dream ended at 3 a.m. one morning when Reich woke up to the news that 389 Merrick Avenue had burned down. 

"Of course, I was devastated," she said.  "I had paid off the mortgage by that time, but couldn't afford to rebuild.  My insurance was practically worthless. All I could do was sell the lot and move on." 

Reich and her husband decided to take a vacation in Florida.The next step became finding  a new home in Florida for the business.    

"Again, I thought it was my dream come true.  I loved the place,"  Reich said. 

But she also missed her family and New York, so after two years, she came back and began working in the back of Roberto's.

"I was so nervous, so afraid nobody would remember me, and I would have to start from nothing again," she said.

But Reich's customers hadn't forgotten her; Merrick hadn’t forgotten her. In fact, the business quickly outgrew the space and Reich found she needed a new place once again. 

The new Headliners opened just two months ago in the former John Michaels salon, next to Pat's Farms. 

From the looks of it, Reich has some big plans for the future.   

“We’ll be adding some new services, including facials, makeup services and hair removal, but making my customers happy is the most important part of what I do.  That’s why I’m here,” she said.