Joyce’s Beauty Lounge is one of the most cherished venues in Fulton Hill, nestled at the first four-way stop at 1626 Williamsburg Road. Residents of the urban, working-class neighborhood gather at the salon to watch the afternoon football games and catch up on current happenings in the town. Joyce Monroe, 61, opened her beauty shop in 1991 and has since served a steady flow of customers in need of a new hair-do.

She is open Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 o’ clock p.m. and Saturdays from 7 o’clock a.m. to 2 o’clock p.m. Joyce Monroe specializes in hair-cuts, relaxers, eyebrow arching, weaves and bump’n curls ranging from five to 75 dollars. She and her son, Tony Monroe, 34, work on opposite ends of the building. She takes care of the beauty needs of women while he works with the men.

“We trade customers. We all work together. My customer might need her eyebrows arched. I’ll send her up to him and allow the guys to come back here for braids,” said Joyce Monroe.

The atmosphere of the facility keeps Tony Monroe motivated while working. “It’s spectacular because I mean it’s like working with family and friends all the time. You build a relationship with your clientele that it makes a family atmosphere,” said Tony Monroe.

At closing time, Joyce Monroe locks the doors to her salon and anticipates what tomorrows business may bring. She says she’s not ready to retire and hopes business will be plentiful until she decides to do so.

This story was developed as part of a journalism class in the VCU School of Mass Communications. Reported by Kara Terrell and Sophia Moody.