PHOENIX — The community is stepping up to help a salon owner recover from her losses two weeks after a fire tore through a pawn shop and a salon in south Phoenix.
Susy Martinez has always had a passion for helping people look their best.
"Es mi pasión. I love it," said Martinez, who owns Unique Designs By Susy's.
That passion became a dream, which turned into reality when she opened her very own hair salon in south Phoenix 24 years ago. That business became a community centerpiece.
"I was telling her, you know, certain clients that come in… we feel like it's like that barbershop movie where people are having like the rollers and everything and all the gossip…" said Ileana Martinez, the daughter of Susy.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, split some ends. The shutdowns at the time cost Martinez 96% of her clients.
Ileana opened a body spa next door to give her mom a loving boost in business. Things were looking up until that fire on Feb. 7.
"She was finishing working with a client and one of the employees from the pawn shop ran over and said, 'you need to get out,'" said Ileana.
A fire had broken out, sweeping through the building at a shopping center near Central Avenue and Baseline Road.
The salon was a total loss. The cause of the fire remains unclear. For Martinez, it is still too emotional to talk about what happened.
All was not lost, though. The community has decided to step up, donating nearly $3,000 already to a GoFundMe.
Another friend has brought Martinez to her salon where she works to keep her doing what she loves to do. Many of her clients are coming along to make appointments.
"I feel like she needs help, to help her customers too,” said Martha Barajas, Martinez’s friend.
"We have a community that really represents that love and unity where we felt like we weren't alone,” said Ileana.
The fire took away their beloved salon, but it has forged something stronger after all: a way forward.
