NILES — With 30 years of experience behind the chair, Jen Strickland is stepping out on her own to bring her talents to downtown Niles with the opening of a new beauty salon.

Salon 414, 204 E. Main St., Niles, officially opened its doors to the community Monday, when she began welcoming in her guests to the space she has redesigned into the salon she always hoped she would own. 

“It feels like home,” she said.

Salon 414 offers a variety of services including coloring, cutting, manicures, pedicures, facial waxing and permanent jewelry. Strickland added that eyelash and hair extensions will be offered in the future. The salon will be open Monday through Saturday by appointment though haircut walk-ins are welcome. Appointments can be made online at salon-414.com.

Strickland said the name Salon 414 was inspired by the Bible verse John 4:14, which tells the story of the woman at the well. For Strickland, the salon is her “well” and she aims to use it to serve the community. 

“People can come in here and sit in our chairs and we can just love on them and share God with them,” she said. “It’s our way to reach and connect with people.”

The opening of the salon was the culmination of months of hard work after Strickland and her husband David purchased the property formerly home to the Nuggett restaurant in November. The Stricklands spent the last two months renovating the “seating” side of the building and transforming it into what is now the salon. According to Strickland, the barn wood has been rehung, ceiling joists and original brick exposed, original wood beams repositioned and new floors and walls were installed. The doorway leading into the “restaurant side” of the space has been sealed off.

Since opening Monday, Strickland said the response from the community has been positive.

“We’ve had a lot of people walking by on the sidewalk looking in and waving and giving a thumbs up,” she said. “We had people clapping and high-fiving through the windows. The people have been great; it’s super warm and welcoming.”

With the Salon space complete, the Stricklands will soon shift focus to renovating and leasing out the restaurant side of the building. Since purchasing the building and announcing their vision for the space, Strickland said numerous interested parties have reached out to her.

“We’re just excited about it,” she said. “We’ve taken a couple of different parties through who are interested in the space. We want to find someone that has that same matching vision in what they want to offer. We have a couple of pretty promising prospects.”