Long-Time Business Owner Gives Founders Forum

By CHERYL JENSEN

The Progress

Founders Forum, part of Mesquite Day’s Celebration, featured Karen Off, owner of several businesses in Mesquite over the last 39 years. The program was held at Mesquite City Hall last month with moderator Merlin Hafen.

Karen opened “Hair Patterns”, a beauty salon on Mesquite Blvd, in May of 1983. She was chairperson of the first Mesquite Day’s Parade, then chairperson over the booths for Mesquite Days, served on the board of the Chamber of Commerce, and has sponsored Angel trees at her shop for several years.

“Mesquite has been good for my family, and I can’t think of any place I would rather have raised my three children,” Karen said.

She opened her shop in what was once a small movie theater on the corner of Grapevine and Mesquite Blvd. The building was rented to her by Brian Hafen. Karen expressed appreciation to the Hafens for their help in getting her started in business in Mesquite.

At the time, she had just completed high school and beauty school in St. George and had started working at a salon there. Two Mesquite residents: Lee Ann Potter and Tonya Bigelow encouraged her to open a salon in Mesquite because they liked how she did their hair.

Karen’s father and brother helped her convert the old cinema building into a salon. They removed the old movie posters, popcorn and red-flocked wallpaper.

At that time, Mesquite had a population of 900 people and the Western Village was at the west end of town.

Karen said that she traveled back and forth to St. George for several years as there were no subdivisions or places to rent. When Davis Construction, with Ed and Thelma Davis, came and started building along Old Mill and Tex Street, Karen bought one of the first homes.

“The smell of the pig farm and dairy farms nearby was a little overwhelming in those days,” Karen said.
She recalled that there were no stop lights or sidewalks. But irrigation ditches were plentiful along the streets. There was one ditch right in front of her shop which often overflowed almost to the door, she said.

The city of Mesquite was incorporated in 1984 by the state legislature. Karen said that it made Mesquite a much better place. Building codes were established and Mesquite started to grow with the construction of a brand new shopping area named Sun Valley Plaza. The Virgin Valley Water District, Bert’s Deli, a dentist office and several other businesses opened in the plaza.

Bert’s Deli was owned by Bert and Joan who made fresh bagels and donuts every morning. They also had fresh sandwiches which were popular with everyone including Karen’s three children. Bert and Joan kept a running tab for the kids who called them grandma and grandpa because they were so kind to them.

As business grew, Karen needed more room, hired more beauticians and moved her salon to Sun Valley Plaza.

Karen always found ways to expand her local market and her business. She realized that the men in town also needed a place to get haircuts and she opened a barber shop next door to her salon. Later, she added an area in her salon that sold fine jewelry. Glamour shots were very popular at the time and Karen opened a photo studio next door. After women got their hair done, they could get glamour shots complete with gloves, feathers and make-up. The studio also did the photos for the sports teams and individual pictures of each kid. They set up backdrops and did photos for the school dances and weddings.

Karen sold “Hair Patterns” after 20 years. She then went to Highland Manor Salon where she worked for 10 years taking care of the residents there.
“That is one of the best times of my career,” she said.

She was still able to take outside clients and they volunteered to help the residents at the manor which was very rewarding to Karen and her clients.

In August of 2020, Karen and her daughter, Danielle, opened a new business, “Fringe Salon” on Pioneer Blvd. They were able to furnish their salon with furniture they purchased from a salon in Chino, California that went out of business. It had been a million-dollar salon. Karen, with her husband and family, loaded up the furniture and moved it to Mesquite.

Fringe Salon is 1,000 feet larger than her previous salon and she has fourteen stylists and technicians working there.

Hafen asked her about how her children liked living in Mesquite. “My kids loved it here and went to all twelve grades in one school building making great friends with their classmates,” Karen responded. “Some say that the kids here just stay in Mesquite and don’t excel. But Jacovi, became valedictorian, went on to Stanford on a scholarship and became a mechanical engineer.”

Karen has had many loyal clients and she has taken good care of them. That was true, even after they passed away. She often went to the mortuary after a client had died to do their hair one last time as a gift to them. She always made sure that the mortuary took that service off the bill.

Karen has continued to give back to the community. The girls in her salon have volunteered as bell ringers at Christmas for the Salvation Army. Their children have enjoyed wearing their Santa hats and ringing the bells also. She sponsored four Angel trees at her shop last year and has people calling to ask if there are names still on the trees that need someone to care for them.