Beehive hair, vintage dress marks salon anniversary

Motorists heading south on Arlington Heights Road last week got quite an eyeful when they drove past Armand's Beauty Salon in Arlington Heights.

Characters dressed right out of the 1960s and '70s - complete with the beehive hairdos and vintage dresses - waved to motorists, as they walked in front of the shop with a sign that read, "Honk for Hair."

Inside the salon, the fun continued, as the wacky characters mingled with the regular Friday morning customers.

It all came as part of a monthlong 40th anniversary celebration for the shop. Current owner, Debbie Kuehne of Arlington Heights, who worked her way up from starting as a shampoo girl there 30 years ago, has sponsored weekly giveaways and customer appreciation events.

Even this week, original owner, Armand Gentile - who still lives in Arlington Heights and returns once a week for his haircut - returned to pull names of the 40 raffle prize winners, one for every year the shop was open.

The throwback to customers 30 and 40 years ago was the idea of Kuehne's high school friends, who wanted to draw attention to the shop, and its long history of serving the community.

Gentile opened the shop back in 1968, after coming out to the Northwest suburbs from working in Marshall Field's salon on State Street in Chicago. He first worked at a shop called, "The Door" in north Arlington Heights, before opening Armand's.

Kuehne started working part time in 1978, while she was a junior at Arlington High School. She remained at the shop while attending beauty school, and through the years of marrying and having children.

In 1993, when Gentile decided to retire, Kuehne bought the shop with a co-worker. Three years later, Kuehne bought out her partner, and she now is its sole proprietor.

Much like her own story, her customers have returned to the familiar shop, through their own years of marrying, raising children and welcoming grandchildren.

"We're built on loyalty," Kuehne says. "We do entire families here. It's a hometown kind of place, where you always see someone you know here. I always joke that if I were to have named it, I'd call it Mayberry."