It’s the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter for the stylists at Mia Sorella Salon & Boutique. The popular beauty and style oasis at Cook & Main Streets in the heart of downtown Barrington closed its doors the day before Thanksgiving and is merging with Barrington Day Spa & Salon down the street.
The twin sister entrepreneurs who founded Mia Sorella, which translates to “my sister” in Italian, opened the salon, spa and boutique in March of 2009. Both busy mothers-of-three, Molly Kiefer and Mary Sirois have offered Barrington a a central and stylish spot for hair, nail and skincare services plus the hottest looks in clothing and accessories for over five years.
Molly and Mary say they decided to close Mia Sorella’s doors to pursue other passions. Molly and her husband are co-pastors of the new Thrive Vineyard Church in Palatine and Mary says she will continue her work as a futures trader while carving out more time to be a soccer coach and volunteer in her kids’ Barrington classrooms.
“We’ve loved having a business in Barrington and we were able to balance it all together as twins, but late this summer we had some turnover with our staff, in a good way. They were moving, getting married, having babies,” Molly says. “We knew it would be challenging to find replacements and we were asking ourselves whether we wanted to keep the business and pace going. The next day I got an email from the building owner saying he was increasing the rent so that was the answer. It became clear that maybe it was time to close our doors.”
Both Mary and Molly say they’ve been proud to witness the changes to downtown Barrington’s business district since they first opened Mia Sorella’s doors.
“We started in the dead of winter 2008/2009 and Cook Street Coffee wasn’t there, Wolf Camera had just closed and McGonigal’s Pub wasn’t open yet. After we opened, then came SweetPea Cakes and Posh and then Urban Flair, One Girl, Notice Accessories and now Heads Up Apparel. The whole place exploded and filled up,” Mary says. “We had so much fun getting the wine walks going and the Village of Barrington did an amazing job of stepping up. They started these monthly merchant meetings and that was the beginning so it’s been really fun to see that happen in downtown Barrington. With the new development coming to Hough & Main Streets, there’s great momentum now and I think that’s really going to continue.”
You don’t have to go far to continue services with some of Mia Sorella’s best-loved local stylists. Three of them are moving right down the street and will now be seeing clients at Barrington Day Spa and Salon, 337 W. Main Street in Barrington. It’s right across the street from Wedding Belles and you can reach them at 224-655-7379, click here to learn more on Facebook or visit their website at TheBarringtonDaySpa.com.
To welcome their new stylists and say farewell to Mia Sorella, Barrington Day Spa and Salon is hosting an open house at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 4th, and all are welcome. They’ll be offering food from Heinen’s Grocery, drinks, prizes and an opportunity to tour the space and get to know the staff. Urban Flair, another recently closed Cook Street boutique, will also continue serving clients with a jewelry pop-up shop at The Barrington Day Spa.
We look forward to seeing your stylists in their new space and wish you luck, Mia Sorella sisters! We’ll miss seeing your ever-changing storefront throughout the seasons in Barrington.
