Gene Juarez Salons and Spas permanently closes its downtown Seattle flagship

SEATTLE - Furniture and equipment were rolled out of Gene Juarez Salons and Spas on Pine Street into a moving truck on Tuesday night.

The flagship salon for Juarez's empire of salons in the Seattle area is permanently closing its doors. It's one 129 businesses in downtown Seattle that have shut down since the pandemic started.

“It is a big deal and honestly I was shocked when I heard that they were closed,” said Lucy Fu, who works at Nordstrom. “I heard that clients who’ve had appointments in advance weren’t notified of the store closure so a couple of disappointing moments there for them.”

RELATED: Seattle 'losing its character' after Elephant Super Car Wash permanently closes iconic location

Katie Trent, chief operating officer for Gene Juarez salons, said downtown salon employees will relocate to the company's nine other salons. 

"The entire team is immensely proud of the rich history of Gene Juarez Downtown and the legacy we’ve cultivated since Gene Juarez first opened its doors there in 1971," Trent said.

Last week, the iconic Elephant Super car wash on Battery Street closed after 64 years of business. A corporate spokesperson said the location is permanently closing due to increasing crime, drug activity and homelessness coupled with rising costs and regulations to do business in Seattle.

“The boarded up windows and the boarded up buildings. It’s changed and it’s noticeably a little bit more daunting to walk through downtown,” said Fu.

So far, Gene Juarez has not explain why the downtown Seattle location is closing but the downtown community is calling the closure yet another loss.

“I feel as though Seattle is a strong place and I think it’ll come back, you know,” said Hurst.