There’s been a little bit of change around Electric Beach Salon the last 365 days.

While a visible change happened earlier this spring by way of a refresh and a remodel, a behind the scenes development became official in September 2024.

A change which benefitted not just the two parties involved, but the salon and its clientele as well.

Last September, after 32 years of being the primary business owner of Electric Beach Salon, Roxanne Simons joined forced with Jenny Rissetto.

Now in honor of 33 years in business and one year as partners, the beauty duo will host an Open House Celebration, set for Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. The event will be hosted from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will include Botox offerings, a flower bar, photo magnets, as well as cocktails and appetizers.

The newly joined partners said that it has been a year which has flown by, so they felt it was time to celebrate with their clients, as well as community.

For longtime owner Simons, the idea of adding a partner after 32 years of business was prompted when faced last year with the five-year contract renewal for her 1214 W. F St., Oakdale, business space. A commitment which caused her to take pause and reflect on after 32 years, what five more years of business would be like.

“What does that look like?” Simons shared of contemplating what life would look like five years from then. “I still want Electric Beach to go on, if I choose to walk away. Even if I chose to walk away, I wanted Electric Beach to still be here for the girls. So, what does that look like?”

In comes Jenny Rissetto, who began with Simons as the Electric Beach receptionist when she was 18. In 2015, Rissetto attended school at Toni and Guy Academy, completing her education and becoming a stylist in 2016.

“I’ve always wanted to do hair since I was little,” Rissetto explained. “I would help Roxanne with clients. She would show me different things with doll heads.”

From answering the phones to doing hair alongside her mentor, little did Rissetto know 13 years later she’d be signing a partnership agreement with a well-known business owner.

“Jenny’s my little right-hand girl,” Simons said, noting when contemplating who she would approach to partner with in the business, it required little thought.

“It just seemed like a good fit and since she’s younger and I’m older, it just made me kind of rejuvenate and really want to invest in Electric Beach again,” Simons confided. “It ran itself for so long and it’s been so long. The girls know what to do and so you kind of don’t put your heart and soul into it anymore. It’s weird, but when I asked her to become partners I was like, we have stuff to do.”

Starting the business at the age of 22, shortly after getting married, it might be easy for one to understand Simons’ sentiments. Yet 33 years later, Simons still loves showing up to the space each and every day.

“I’m not saying I’m done in five years,” the veteran owner said with a chuckle. “I don’t want people to get crazy. I just want the option to be able to say Jenny you take it all and I’ll rent a station or I’m still here and this is more her gig or whatever.”

Simons further shared, following the COVID pandemic, she reflected a little on her personal life/work life balance and cut her schedule to three days a week. A schedule change she’s been able to maintain and is quite happy with.

Now, having her sidekick as a business partner has proven to be a smart business move for the longtime stylist.

“It rejuvenated me to where I felt young again,” Simons stated. “I can’t teach her what I was doing, it was running itself, but teaching her how to do things and do them correctly. So … this can be longevity for her and for her family. It just put a different purpose on my plate.

“She teaches me so much,” Simons added of Rissetto. “She says I’m teaching her, but she really does teach me.”

As for Rissetto, she shared while the offer of joining forces as partners came as a surprise, once the shock wore off and anxiety was at bay, she became excited.

“I’ve always been really scared to,” Rissetto said of starting her own business. “I felt like it (partnership) was a really good opportunity.”

“I knew I could trust her with this business and with the girls,” Simons said. “My biggest thing is that there’s a place for women to work. A safe good place.”

There is a sense of pride in maintaining a thriving business for three-plus decades.

“This place is special. It is a second home,” the founder said. “It’s very, very special from what we let in and how we take care of those people. I knew she could keep that tradition going.”

Some might say all the things which Simons loves about the space, are due largely in part to her work ethic and leadership. From early on, Simons shared the importance she places on greeting everyone, as well as being welcoming and positive with their customers and one another.

“I’m very upfront,” Simons confessed. “When I interview people I say, this runs like a well-oiled machine; if something starts happening, I know it’s you and we’re not having it.”

“I think it helps that she’s upfront about it,” her partner added, “because you either like it or you don’t.”

The no nonsense approach is well received and understood by both the staff as well as the clients.

“Your salon has a vibe, that’s one big word that we always hear,” Simons shared.

Now as the ‘Boss Babes’ look to the future, they reflect on where the salon has been and now where it’s going.

In addition to a little fine tuning to their remodel, the two women shared there are a few services they’d like to add if they found the right fit.

Currently, Electric Beach Salon offers everything hair from color to cut to perms, as well as waxing and nails.

Future goals they’ve discussed include possibly branching out to add a barber, body sculpting and/or a tattoo artist.

“I would love to have something in that room,” Simons said of the space used for waxing.

And now, as they prepare for their one-year celebration, the duo shared their excitement as well as their love for the thing the world knows as “work.”

“I love what I do,” Rissetto confessed, adding that she looks forward to seeing her clients and having them share their lives with her.

“It’s a happy place,” she continued about the overall environment. “We come in with positive attitudes. I feel like that’s a number one thing.”

“Honestly, I’ve been super, super blessed,” Simons concluded. “I ended up opening Electric Beach at 22 and never looked back. Then I was doing my passion. I still am not sick of doing what I’m doing, at all. Why not celebrate it.”