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Simi salon abruptly shuts its doors
Stylists worry about pay, how to serve clients
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More from Local NewsShawna Powell found her dream job when she started working as a stylist at Satori Day Spa & Salon, a high-end beauty parlor in Simi Valley.
The 23-year-old Simi Valley resident loved going in to work, where there was buzz of activity, gossip and camaraderie. She worked the 3 to 9 p.m. shift, which allowed her fiancé to help watch their young daughter so they didn't have to pay for day care.
But Powell and her co-workers found the salon closed on Monday without any notice. Now she and about 25 others are scrambling to find work in an already sluggish economy and figure out how to serve their clients. And some are wondering how they will get paid the money owed them or what will happen to the rent they prepaid for their stations in the salon.
The employees were told the salon was closed Monday but were not given any explanation. They were allowed to go into the business on Tuesday, two at a time and under the supervision of guards, to clean out their stations and remove their belongings. They also were given their paychecks.
Efforts to reach the salon's owner, Mark Behrang, 37, of Simi Valley, were unsuccessful.
Stylists said Behrang bought the business, which is a prominent feature in the El Paseo Simi mall in the 2900 block of Tapo Canyon Road, two years ago.
Powell said when she got her paycheck, she cashed it immediately and got her $1,300, but the stylist in the bank line behind her was told there were insufficient funds in the account to cash it. Others have been told their check was in the mail, she said.
Stylist Erica Long said many gift certificates to the salon have been issued and remain outstanding. She wonders what will happen to them.
Though summertime is usually a slow period, Long and several stylists said business had been good.
Stylist Brianna Getrost said she's looking for someplace to continue working with her clients, but it might be tough. She's hoping someone else will buy the salon and hire back the employees but needs to find a way to get by until then.
Ventura County has an unemployment rate of 6 percent, an increase from 4.8 percent a year ago.
Getrost said when she picked up her belongings at the salon on Tuesday, the place had an eerie feel to it. All the hair products were gone, and some of the wall hangings had been taken down.
She and some others put up a sign outside the salon, telling their clients where they can find their favorite stylist.
Posted by stikkelman on July 24, 2008 at 7:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
this owner should have at least given these poor people warning. That's just not right.
Posted by christafrankmiller on July 24, 2008 at 7:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
this is so terrible!! and people expect employees to give 2 weeks notice!? sounds like this was all planned but just not talked about...he had time to take pics of walls and empty his account for the most part... hmmmm i hope everyone is able to get their money owed and find a better place to work where the owner has honor and loyalty to his employees...
Posted by Hueneme_girl29 on July 24, 2008 at 7:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds like some charges are going to be filed! Imagine, being in line behind the other girl, desperate to cash your check, and the check is no good? What a scum of an owner!
Posted by DoctorDude on July 24, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Slow news day? I hear there may be a carwash in Camarillo that may close. Get on it!
Posted by thetruthdotcom on July 24, 2008 at 8:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
damn hope they find jobs quickly.
Posted by mauid2005 on July 24, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow security guards to get your personal belongings? Man, if that happened to me I would not go away quietly. Wonder if we'll ever find out what the story is.
Posted by sweetcm12 on July 24, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To ALL stylist, manicurist, ect., sorry to hear about your job loss please e-mail us if we can help glamour.salon@yahoo.com
Posted by NightLight on July 24, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, the closing of a local business is newsworthy, especially the way this was done! My prayers are with those who lost their jobs, I know if I lost my job as suddenly as that I would be in real trouble.
Posted by 62vette on July 24, 2008 at 1:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Doctor Dud-
This is a LOCAL news story & worthy of print. When an employee shows up at their place of employment to find the place closed, that's news. Local residents having to worry about obtaining their paycheck & refund on rents is NEWS in Simi Valley.
Posted by mschiff on July 24, 2008 at 3:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The reason the guards were there was because the bankruptcy court ordered them to be there. They do that because the bankruptcy court now owns all of the assets of the business and they need to make sure that only personal items are taken out of the location. I am the leasing agent for the center and can tell you that we are speaking with salon owners who would like to take over the business. Unfortunately they have to go through the courts since the landlord does not even have possession of the space back from the BK court. It is a beautiful salon and I can assure you that it will re-open again (perhaps under a different name).
Posted by mmmmdeedee on July 25, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is not the first time this has happened. Many businesses close that way sorry to say. It happens to big and small businesses. Unfortunately it's just another sign of the times. The guards may be there because of bankruptcy or they just might be there to make sure that nobody vandalizes or steals anything.
Posted by bastecki on July 25, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The owner of this business should not be allowed to apply for any other business licenses or DBAs. There is no room in our lives for this sort of scum.
Posted by mmmmdeedee on July 25, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Can you really call him a scum without knowing who he is or the entire story of what is going on? I am telling you people, this is how business works sometimes. He may be a scum bag but let's not go for the knee-jerk reaction when you really don't know what is going on with him or his life. Also, remember we are all in this together. If one person does something we consider bad, do we just bash him and add to the problem or do we try to help those that are now adversely affected by all of this?
Posted by Raaachel_67 on July 26, 2008 at 1:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was a receptionist at SATORI for over 15 months, and was on my only vacation for this summer when the doors to my job were shut. I was one of two of the receptionists (seven total) working almost full-time. And now since I was gone when employees went to pick up their checks, I never got mine. We're supposedly supposed to get them in the mail, but to be honest, I don't know if I will. And even if I do receive my check in the mail, will there be insufficient funds? Wow. Back during Christmas time, depending on the amount of gift card's a receptionist sold, you would get a bonus of anywhere between 50 and 500 dollars. We were promised to receive that bonus in the beginning of January. Not a single one of us got the bonuses that we were promised until April. I had so much patience with SATORI not only because I absolutely loved my job and working with a large majority of people from Simi, but because there is so much potential in the salon. Mark Behrang, the owner, was not a part of the business. Within the 15 months of my emplyoment at SATORI, I saw him maybe 3 times - for a total of about 10 minutes. The doors were closed so abruptly because it took him six months to file bankruptcy; he didn't care about his employees. And I can honestly say that because I know EVERYTHING that goes on in the salon. The salon is being taken over by it's previous owner (which is absolutely amazing). I put so much work into the salon, I just feel like no body really cared. It's definitely a discouraging feeling; and to be honest, I think the ownership change will be a GREAT thing. it just could of been done a lot more professionally on Mark's behalf.
Posted by suusan on July 26, 2008 at 11:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was an Esthetician at Satori and I only saw the owner once. He had no one running the place. He expected the young receptionists to run his business with no formal training! Oh and yeah mmmmdeedee we CAN call him scum because there are many ways he could have handled this, but he chose to do it the way a coward would! This is not a sign of the times. This is a sign of irresponsible business practices. Like raising and collecting everyone's rent when he knew he was about to do this. Not to mention continuing to sell gift cards.
Posted by Sibayer on July 27, 2008 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is heartbreaking news....so sorry to hear about this awful mess! I was a former client there..and I loved my stylist, however ever since the ownership had changed, I sensed a stressful tension. As lovely as the place was, I had to go elsewhere. I was saddened, but not surprised that this terrible thing occurred. I think when there are negative underlying intentions, we can intuitively feel the wrongness. Yet, we try to remain optimistic under dire circumstances. That said...I wish the employees there the best of luck...that this rotten game pulled on them will not deter them and get them down. I wish for better things to come from this! I will be the first of many former clients who will be there to support the new salon when the doors open again!
Posted by my2cents4u on July 29, 2008 at 12:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is very sad to hear of the abrupt closing of Satori. And It IS newsworthy because it affects a lot of people in Simi. It sounds like the owner was very detached from the business. I don't know, but maybe the creditors were like wolves at his door and he was trying to hang on as long as he could to save the business. If he had made an announcement, I wonder how many employees would have packed up their things and went to new salons? Then he would really be in a fix because he would not have ANY revenue coming in. Maybe he kept thinking "one more month of gift certificate sales", "one more month and the economy will get better"...who knows? Then one day, the creditors became too much or his rent was too far behind and maybe he got LOCKED OUT by the property owner?!! Maybe this Mark guy should write the newspaper or the forum to tell his side, if he even cares what people think. Let's remember, there are always two sides. And what is this talk about the first owner coming back? It has only been two years so that is a little suspicious. Last of all, are there really that many people who can keep paying the high prices of Satori in today's economy? Am I the only one who thinks their prices are outrageous? Either that, or everyone is in DENIAL that we are in a recession! Yes, it is really fancy -- but a manicure is a manicure -- and a haircut is a haircut -- and a massage is a massage. These talented employees can do their services anywhere. It is not that big of a deal to go rent a new space in another salon. What is really sad is the part about the paychecks. Well, these employees need to file as creditors in the bankruptcy file - ASAP! The bankruptcy court is going to liquidate the assets (or sell them back to the first owner at a fraction of the cost???) The money that the court gets for the assets will be used towards these unpaid wages.
Posted by mschiff on July 29, 2008 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is funny to read all of these messages from people that have no idea the other side of the story (which I do since I am involved with the leasing of the center as I said in my previous post). I cannot say too much because a lot of it is confidential. I do not know Mark as well as the people who actually worked for him, but I can tell you that he tried as hard as he could to keep the doors open as long as he could. I know that he reached a point where he ran out of money and had to make a decision between paying his rent and paying his employees, and he choose the later - so all of you people who are saying he is scum just don't know. He felt terrible about having to file BK but he had no other options left (that is what happens when you run out of money). The original owner of Satori is still on the hook for the lease since she sold the business and subleased the space to Mark. Therefore since she still is responsible for paying the rent, she might as well go back in there and operate it again. The plan was for there to be a seamless transition with no down time, but unfortunately the bankruptcy court prevented that from happening and closed it down. As soon as everything is settled with the BK court, she will be allowed to go back in there and operate it again. So again, stop calling Mark a scum, he THOUGHT that it would all be a seamless transition for the employees, but unfortunately things don't always work out as planned.
Posted by Raaachel_67 on August 5, 2008 at 1:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mark is making the transition of Satori's new opening VERY difficult. Tammy (the new owner) has gone through so much already to try and help out the employees there by getting the doors open as soon as possible, but Mark is making it completely impossible. It's been over two weeks now, and I still don't have a penny of my 75 hours that I worked. And not only that, Mark and the manager, Veronica will not pick up ANY phone calls from anybody who wants their checks. I'm sorry to say, but Mark has no intentions of paying his employees who didn't get their money on the following day after the salon closed. As for the whole bankruptcy thing, he's been lying on and off to Tammy about whether or not he has really filed bankruptcy. In the meantime, he has former employees like me, who used to work full-time at 18 years old, with NO money....75 hours that I put in one month ago. I filed with Wage Claims with the gov't of CA, but who knows if anything will even be done.
Posted by michellea21 on August 6, 2008 at 6:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you are looking for Michelle Assadi(esthetician) email me at michellea21@hotmail.com I checky my emails everyday and I will let you know where I am.
Posted by Habib_bin_Booby on August 9, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What do you expect from a Behrang? What a nice pounding for the employees and for clients like me. I am sitting on a $150.00 gift card and If I come in contact with that fussy little foreigner, I'll pull his f'en turban around his neck and choke the F. I'd like to give him a massage with Muriatic acid.
Send him back to the Middle East where he would be hanged for pulling this stunt on so many people!
For those of you Jack A's sticking up for the loser, I can tell you as a business owner, that is not the proper way to close a business, even if you are broke. What a douche bag!
I hope the new owner will accept the gift cards or I wouldn't be surprised to see a brick thought the front window?
Posted by suusan on August 10, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you are looking for Susan Cohen (esthetician) e-mail me at susanvcohen@gmail.com I have found a temporary place where I can continue to serve you.
Posted by Teri_from_Valencia on August 13, 2008 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You ladies will rise above again after the legal mombo jombo is worked out. I've followed MY girl LH from Salon to Salon whenever she made a new transition. You have your loyal clientele base to take with you. I know biz gets slow, and people have to do what they have to do, but if you're a good & great stylist, you WILL re-establish yourself, at Satori if & when it reopens, or somewhere new. I myself, have been one of the unemployed statistics for the last few months. It REALLY stinks financially, I know. Boy do I know...The economy is really really is hurting people. But You just don't give up, and you don't hold all the ill will against one person who was most likely doing what he could to keep the doors open for as long as he could. Yes, it probably was Just a business to him, but all of you stylists & employees know that you were way more than that. And could he have handled it differently ? Maybe, but closing a business isn't an easy decision No matter How you look at it. Someone is going to lose and all be affected with a lose lose situation. This is one man doing what he had to do, for whatever reason, yes... It puts everyone else's life in a pissy bind, but you're not going to make anything better by wanting to ship him out of this country,(which btw,Really appalled me to read) or blaming him for today's stinky economy situation. Would things be different if he had warned you, or let it drag out to the holidays rather than an expected slower time like the summer? Maybe Yes, Maybe No. So, YOU do what YOU have to do (ie. contact the appropriate sources so you can go on list as being an owed debt in the BK court) file for unemployment, and look for a new establishment to service your faithful clientele base ! Some of us drive many miles with high gas prices to see you, and pay for your services because you're Worth it. But whining and complaining about this, isn't going to make you money any quicker.Most of you already know This is just a speed bump in the road of your business, its not a dead end. Keep driving, and pretty soon they're in the rear view mirror never to be seen again. Look forward to seeing you all up and running(driving) again!!
Posted by efreyre81 on November 19, 2008 at 12:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I just wanted to let everyone know I had the same issue with the gift cards. A new salon, salon de posh, is going in where Satori was. It is the original owner. I sent an email asking if they would honor gift cards and this is the response I got. Just wanted to pass along the good news.
There are a few Independent Contractor's that have come back and they are going to take the gift certificate's at a 50% reduction in price for services. That would be equivilent to what they were paid if the gift certificate would have been used. I hope that helps and I am so sorry for the inconvenience that Satori going out of business may have caused you.
I am the original owner of the salon and have purchased the assets and property back from the bank but the last owner has filed BK on the Corp. I can assure you that if you come in the salon to obtain services that you will be very well taken care of. This location in Simi Valley is a 2nd location as we have another in T.O. as well. We are very well established and professional and we will be in business for a very long time as I have signed a significant lease to keep the salon open.
Hope this helps some.
Posted by BKexpert on March 12, 2009 at 9:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dear efreyre81,
dont get hurt, but no matter if you are the original owner, i hope it wont be a BK salon soon.
you got to triple your work in order to put them back in order and have INCOME. all businesses are slow these days...so cut expensive overheads. just a friendly reminder.
Love, the real Angel of all times
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