Twenty-year-old Olivia Pacheco has made her childhood dreams come true by opening her own hair salon.
“I loved it as a kid. I started doing my best friend’s hair in middle school. She likes crazy colors. So we did that like every three months, maybe, for like my whole whole middle school and high school career,” she said.
While her father Josh Pacheco owns the building and business on paper, Olivia Pacheco will run day-to-day operations of 800 Main Salon.
“I’m excited. I’m proud of her. She’s earned it,” he said.
Olivia graduated early from Eudora High School following the first semester of her senior year in 2021. She did this so she could get a jump start on her career, which began by attending Paul Mitchell The School in Overland Park.
Her mother Rachel Pacheco said this time was difficult for her family with health issues due to COVID-19, which makes her proud of Olivia for pressing on.
“It just tore our whole family apart, you know, for a long time, and she just powered through it and just did amazing. She took care of us, she took care of her grandparents,” Rachel Pacheco said. “And on top of this, she just had this idea of the salon, and we were like, ‘You know, if you make all this happen and set this goal for yourself and you do it, then you can have this. We’ll support you all the way’ and she did.”
Olivia said she completed her 1,500 required hours of training this past March. She said being fresh out of school has given her the upper hand to enter into the Eudora hair business.
“I can offer newer things because I was just so recent out of school, and I’m also hair certified in hair extensions,” she said.
Her aunt, Lisa Parker, has been in the hair business for 23 years. Parker also influenced Olivia to enter the hair business because Olivia grew up getting her hair done by her aunt.
“I’m so proud of her. It can make me cry,” Parker said.
Josh Pacheco owns three other businesses in town so, for Olivia, family business comes second nature.
“If you’re a fisherman’s daughter, you’re gonna know about fishing, right? So this was kind of her thing,” Rachel Pacheco said.
800 Main Salon will open Wednesday for appointments only. Olivia said she intends to participate as a vendor in this year’s EudoraFest. She said she plans to have a ribbon cutting ceremony in the future following the community event.
Olivia will begin as the only hair stylist in the salon, but intends to expand in the future.
“I really hope it is a piece of luxury for Eudora because we’re just such a sit-in, bed little town, you know, you go to work in K.C. or Lawrence, but I would like it to be a little piece of luxury for people,” Olivia said.
Appointments can be made through 800 Main Street Facebook page.
Reach reporter Hannah Nystrom at [email protected]
