Osio Salon Brings European Style to Merrick

If you're looking for a place with glitz, glam and style then Osio salon may be the place for you.

The boutique-style salon located at 135 Merrick Rd. opened on May 6 and offers a European touch to make your visit a different, but memorable one.

Bobby D'Ambrosio owns the salon with his wife, Eva, and came up with the name because "osio" are the last four letters in his last name.

He also has had a salon in Oceanside for 18 years and thought this particular spot in Merrick would be ideal for a second opening because, "For the last five years I've been driving by and it's been kind of empty and I think it's a great location; I think it's a great town, I think that I have plenty of parking and it's very visible—and I thought it would be the perfect spot for a salon."

So far, so good, according to D'Ambrosio, who said business at Osio has been great since it opened its doors last month.

"We get a lot of people in the area that want to try us and they've been really happy," D'Ambrosio said. "Plus when they walk in they're like, 'Wow.'"

D'Ambrosio, a Plainview resident, wanted his salon to have a very European/Soho feel to it because he is also in the music business and travels Europe often.

"We have a full-blown espresso bar, which coffee is like a culture in Europe, so I try to bring that here," D'Ambrosio said.

Adding to that feeling, you will find bold colors of black, red and white that pop out, along with a disc jockey booth in the corner and two Internet stations to use while waiting.

"On the weekends I'm going to have a DJ playing underground house music because I want to give it that vibe," D'Ambrosio said. "Also in our reception area we have two MacBook stations. People can go online, they can check their e-mails, Facebook—whatever they want to do while maybe their friends are getting services done here."

Osio is also one of the only salons to boast Fashion TV, which is satellite from Europe and offers fashion shows, runway, modeling and more, and goes perfect with their red carpet parties.

Every Sunday Osio offers red carpet parties for kids ages seven to 11.

"We do hair, nails and makeup for each of the girls that are in the party and we do a runway show," D'Ambrosio said. "We put out a red carpet and we have the velvet ropes and they walk down the runway and we take their picture and then they have pizza and cake and stuff."

Osio's employees are all highly educated stylists and two of them actually go to other salons and teach color.

Stylist Christina D'Andrea who has been working with Osio for two years said: "I love it, it's very different from our other salon. Our other salon is a lot lower key; it's a little more subtle. This is definitely a lot bolder and I love working for my bosses, they are excellent bosses."

Most of D'Ambrosio's stylists came from his other salon, along with a couple of new ones and use Goldwell as their main color line, which according to the owner is a "fabulous, incredible line that is one of the best in the world, so it's really all high end stuff that we use here."

Osio salon is currently closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but will be open on Tuesdays starting in September. Appointments and walk-ins are fully accommodated and welcomed.

"I'm trying to create something different in the salon atmosphere," D'Ambrosio said.