Beauty spot

revived

The location formerly occupied by Georgia Career Institute at 755 N. Chancery St. is once again a place to get beautified. 

Nick and Thalia Blount have turned the former beauty school into Revive Hair Studio. The couple is from California and have been involved in the education side of the beauty industry for several years. 

Nick said, "We decided to take the opportunity to open a salon. This is our first salon but we're not new to the beauty industry. Georgia Career Institute moved to Murfreesboro in December, leaving the place vacant. We thought it would be a good spot. We've spent the last couple of months getting the place ready and getting the necessary inspections and licenses. We just opened last week."

Revive Hair Studio is a veteran-owned business and Nick and Thalia are proud to offer a discount to all active duty service members, veterans and law enforcement personnel.  "I'm a veteran. My background is U.S. Army and I'm a U.S. Navy combat veteran. I also have some law enforcement experience. This was prior to me going into the beauty career field. 

It might not seem like the typical career path for a combat veteran and someone with law enforcement experience, but for Nick, it all goes back to his mom. "My mother was in the beauty industry for many years before she retired. After I got out of the Navy, I eventually took over the business and ran it. Then my wife got into the business with me and after a few years in the education side, we decided to give a salon a shot. We had helped many people open salons and barber shops so we decided it was time we opened our own," Nick said.

Nick and Thalia are excited to become a part of the Warren County community. "We look forward to many years engaging with the community and offering great services the community wants at affordable prices. We hope to help fill the void for former clients of GCI," Nick said.

"We want to bring our ideas and knowledge to people of the community to help them get their desired look within their budget and comfort level," Nick added. 

Revive Hair Studio is open from Tuesday - Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. with plans to expand those hours in the future and offers a wide range of services. "We're for men, women and kids and offer everything from a basic haircut to premium services which include haircut, shampoo, conditioner and hot steam towel. We offer a full range of coloring services for men and women. We're currently not doing nail service yet but that's something we'll probably be starting later in the year. Right now we primarily offer hair services including beard trimming and styling. We can do everything from basic haircuts to styling," Nick said.

For the remainder of the month of August, Nick and Thalia are cutting prices as well as hair. "We're running a special on basic haircuts. They are normally $20 but this month they are $15. Next month we'll probably have a different discount on a different service," Nick said. 

More information on Revive Hair Studio can be found at revive-hairstudio.com and Nick and Thalia can be contacted at info@revive-hairstudio.com or (931) 414-4104. 

Biz Bit

A fun thing about being the Southern Standard's Business Pulse guy is sometimes being clued in on the very earliest stages of planning for some new businesses. 

To continue to get that access, I have to keep the trust of my informants by not spilling all the details. What I can say is I was recently informed of preliminary plans for a brand new restaurant  that could be coming to McMinnville. 

As I said, it's still in the concept stage and may or may not come to fruition but the idea is a unique one which sounds awesome. It would bring something to Warren County's menu of dining options that, to my knowledge, hasn't been seen here. It will also create jobs. It's something  I'll be keeping my eyes on and, if it becomes a reality, I'll be tickled to pass the news on to you.

More than just

great food

If you like a little entertainment with your meal, Mud Bums at 213 Northgate Drive, St. 400 is the place for you. A family-oriented sports grill, Mud Bums's specializes in wings and sandwiches but offers a varied menu, including weekly entertainment options.

Mud Bums owner Brett Simmons says customers can expect to see a fall revamp of the Mud Bums menu sometime in September with some new appetizers and entrees coming. As far as entertainment, Mud Bums has a full menu.

Monday nights at Mud Bums are bingo night. Tuesdays are song writers night. On Wednesdays, beginning Sept. 6, Mud Bums' popular music trivia night returns, hosted by the Southern Standard's own, Jeff Simmons. On Thurdays, Mud Bums offers 80-cent wings all day. Friday - Sunday Mud Bums offers a bucket of beer, 10 wings and a pizza for $30. And steaks are available every day of the week.

As football season approaches, fans are invited to watch the games on Mud Bums' multiple TVs and fans of the Vols and Titans have extra reason to root for their teams. "We do $1 beers after every Titan and Vol touchdown. You can imagine that gets pretty wild when UT plays Austin Peay," Brett joked.

Mud Bums has become known for their parking-lot concerts. Those will die down as football season takes over, but there are a few opportunities remaining for music lovers. On Aug. 19, Mighty Train Wrecks will perform. On Aug. 25 is Shattered. Charlie Allen will play Aug. 26 and Sept. 30 is the T.C. Bryant Band. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. 

Mud Bums can be found on Facebook and can be reached at (931) 507-BUMS (2867).

Chamber chat

I checked in this week with McMinnville-Warren County Chamber of Commerce President Melissa Mullins to see what's going on with the Chamber. She told me the Chamber's newest member is U.S. Barn Builders, owned by Tucker Higgins. 

For new members, like Tucker, the Chamber offers a Chamber 101 course the last Friday of each month to explain all the benefits members can take advantage of. The next Chamber 101 will be Aug. 25 from 9 - 10 a.m. in the Chamber's Community Room. New and existing Chamber members are welcome to attend.

The Chamber will also be offering a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing class in partnership with The Biz Foundry on Monday from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. The class will be taught by Jeremy Rivera who has worked with national chains such as Logan's Roadhouse, Captain D's and others to help them more effectively reach audiences online. The class is free for members of the Chamber and $10 for non-members. It will take place at The Biz Foundry, 118 S. Court Sq. Contact  the Chamber at (931) 473-6611 for more information.

The Chamber also has several ribbon cuttings coming up. Check out McMinnville-Warren County Chamber of Commerce on Facebook for more information.

Until next week,

same biz time,

same biz page

Thanks for reading and thanks to Ben Lomand Connect for sponsoring the column. Send your business tips and suggestions to editor@southernstandard.com or call (931) 473-2191. See you here next week.