News Photo by Darby Hinkley Shear Envy Salon owner Madison Frishett, left, and her sister, Tabitha Heltsley, who also works at the salon, stand in front of the illuminated sign inside the salon in downtown Alpena.

ALPENA — Shear Envy Salon opened eight years ago in downtown Alpena, and they are excited to be expanding their business to double their space.

The full-service salon has been located at 212 N. 2nd Ave. since they opened, and now they will combine with the neighboring storefront at 210 N. 2nd Ave. The Bluebird Boutique was located there, but closed in January.

Madison Frishett, Shear Envy owner, has planned the expansion since she found out The Bluebird was closing. She coordinated with the owner of the boutique and with the landlord to take over that space.

“She reached out to me,” Frishett said of the prior Bluebird owner. “She knew that I wanted to expand before she got the building.”

The wall between the two storefronts has been opened up for a wide walk-through doorway. The combined space will allow for the addition of more stylists and give the current stylists and technicians more room to provide services to clients.

“We’ll have two extra styling stations, we’ll have a nail tech that will do pedicures and nails, massage therapist,” said Frishett. “We’ll do eyelash extensions, just some different things. We do, pretty much, everything. We do haircuts, coloring, corrective color, fashion colors.”

Frishett said an expansion has been on her mind for a long time.

“I’ve been wanting to do it, pretty much, since I opened,” she said. “After I realized that I wanted to be a little bit bigger. I’ve been trying for years, and I’ve seen a lot of failed businesses in and out of here — I think there have been six since I’ve been here — so, finally getting the ‘OK’ was super exciting, because it’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to do it.”

She has loved her current location, on the corner of North 2nd Avenue and Water Street, so she is happy to continue business there, while still being able to expand and now utilize another storefront, as well.

“It gives us a lot more room,” Frishett said. “It would be a little more than doubling (our space). We get a lunch room. We’re really excited about that.”

Shear Envy has been a part of downtown Alpena for eight years, and plans to stay for many more.

“We love it down here,” Frishett said. “It’s a really good location on the corner, you get to see a lot of foot traffic. Hopefully, when they get these businesses around us fixed up a little bit, that will bring a little bit more foot traffic down here. But, we really like it, and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to move. I wanted to expand here, because I love the area. It’s a good spot.”