American Male Salon opens in Fargo

Hear ye, oh men of Fargo-Moorhead.

Now you can get a Busch Basic, some paint detailing, a hand buff and a major tune-up in a little over an hour.

Then you can take your car in for some work.

American Male Salon, a car garage-themed hair salon and spa complete with tool kits, bucket seats and the front clip of a '57 Pontiac, is open for business in Fargo.

Owner Connie Bernabucci has aimed for an atmosphere where a man can be a man -- and still get a pedicure and some highlights.

"We are entering the race," said Bernabucci, who describes herself and manager Vonda Kuhl as the head grease monkeys.

"The American male needed a place to go" for spa services, she said, adding that settling on the theme was easy.

"I looked at Fargo. And what is Fargo? I just thought a garage theme would be perfect," she said, sitting back in one of the yellow and black leather buckets in the waiting area.

The salon aims at the male market, but also has full services for women and haircuts for children.

Services follow a NASCAR racing theme. A massage is a major tuneup (one hour) or a minor tuneup (half hour). Highlighting is "paint detailing," Haircuts come in the Busch Basic and Winston Cup Series.

Bernabucci designed the salon at 2551 45th St. S.W. around the Craftsmen brand tool chests that hold her stylists' tools. Two carpenter's squares make up each mirror.

The floor tiles are black and red "just like the winner's circle at the Daytona 500," Bernabucci said.

Commemorative race car hoods and working Shop Vacs line the walls.

For customers who get thirsty when they have their hair cut, there's free O'Douls nonalcoholic beer.

"They like it. It's different," said "service technician" Jenny Finstad of her male customers. "They love the O'Doul's. Anything that tastes like beer to them is cool to them."

Dominating the entrance is a desk made from a bright yellow front clip of a 1957 Pontiac, complete with mag wheels and street rod tires.

Five televisions are locked on CNN and ESPN. Don't look for Vogue or Women's Day here, the magazines run toward In-Fisherman, Golf, Trucking, Motor Cyclist and The Family Handyman.

"It's pretty guy-oriented. ... It's more of a garage look, not so feminine," said customer Chris Siverson, a senior at Concordia College.

Siverson, a baseball player, said his hands get too torn up to make a manicure worthwhile, but he has gone the massage route.

"It was good. I've never had one before. It was my first," he said.

Bernabucci also owns Bucci Salon on South University in Fargo. She plans to franchise American Male Salon and has already gotten interest from Utah and South Dakota.

"A lot of people think it's a great concept," she said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Helmut Schmidt at (701) 241-5583