Brittaney Hoover has heard the familiar horror stories about new businesses that fail and was bracing for the worst after she and her mother opened Di la Bella Salon and Spa in downtown Chesterton.

But the worries turned out to be just that. In the six months that Di la Bella has been opened, business has been better than Hoover expected. “It’s been going really good. I love every minute of it,” she said.

The business was opened by Brittaney’s mother, Debbie Hoover. As co-owner of Frontier Lawn and Rec in Michigan City, Debbie is familiar with running a business. She said she was prompted to open a completely different business -- a beauty salon -- because of Brittaney, who not only has always wanted to get into business herself but who also recently graduated from the Aveda Institute in Chicago.

Debbie said the salon hasn’t seemed to be hurt by the recession. She attributes the brisk business in part to the fact that the salon exclusively carries the Aveda product line. Based in Minnesota, Aveda manufactures plant-based products, has an environmentally friendly mission, and says it’s the first beauty company that offsets 100 percent of its electricity usage by purchasing wind power generated from 19 windfarms in Minnesota. People who try Aveda products tend to be big fans, Debbie said.

“Chesterton has been very good to us. We have new people coming in all the time,” she said.

The salon is located in the former Ace building at 320 South Calumet. Debbie said her mother’s family members are all from Chesterton, and that she often shopped at the Ace store with her grandmother.

With the exception of nails, the salon offers a variety of beauty services, including hair cuts, coloring and styling, facials, waxing and massage. The name of the store means “beyond beautiful” in Italian. Brittaney came up with the name after scouring the Internet for just the right one.

The salon has three hairstylists and a massage therapist, with Debbie as the manager and Brittaney as head stylist.

Brittaney said she enjoys the cosmetology field because of the way it can positively impact people. She noted that some customers might not be feeling very good about themselves. “You can make them feel up. You can totally change how a person feels about themselves with a new hairstyle or a little make-up,” she said.

The store hours are 9 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The phone is 728-1938.

Posted 6/15/2010