Owners Cal Bigari and Jessie Santiago stand in front of Salon Benders during their opening last year. When Jessica Santiago and Cal Bigari took over the Hot Cha Coffee Pot space on Fourth Street last year, they didn’t expect a global pandemic to stand in the way of their salon’s success. But through the shutdown, uncertainty surrounding the Safer at Home order and some help from their Long Beach neighbors, the Salon Benders continues to stand tall, and as of last week, is back open for business. “We have been worried every single day for six months,” Santiago said. “We’ve only been open for six days (as of Monday, Sept. 21), so we are still struggling.” 300×250 image ad The salon is a safe-haven for people in the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a space where it doesn’t matter how someone looks, or what their lifestyle looks like: all are welcome. But like any other business, without a stable influx of customers, it gets harder to pay the bills. “Basically the entire world is made for heterosexual white people,” Santiago said. “In queer spaces like Salon Benders, we don’t have to explain why our bodies look the way it does or […]
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