A building once known for rowdy, drunken behavior has been transformed into an oasis of luxurious grooming and massaging.
Matt Cisneros opened his new Salon Emme on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Second Street in what once was a rough and tumble neighborhood bar.
Cisneros had been looking for a new location after spending over a decade with his hair salon at the Parkway Plaza.
Eventually his realtor showed him the former Lounge, a dive neighbors for years referred to as “The Scrounge”.
“It was horrible,” remembers Cisneros. “I thought, why not just knock the whole thing down and start from scratch.”
The Lounge closed around 2005 after neighbors, tired of police calls and vandalism from rowdy patrons, gathered enough petitions to get the bar owner’s license revoked.
It’s the prime location rather than the history that eventually convinced Cisneros to invest in the property.
If the walls in the old place could talk, they’d probably be talking from the landfill. “The roof is new, all electrical, all the plumbing out to the alley, all the walls, the concrete floor,” said Cisneros. The work took over a year to finish.
“It never fails, someone comes in and tells me a story about this place and every time it’s about drinkin’ too much, gettin’ in a fight,” said Cisneros, who himself never visited “The Scrounge” but knew it well. “I’d drive by this place and think, ‘Man that’s the ugliest building,’…and now I own it.”
The hard work, which was accomplished by contractors and his own substantial sweat equity, has radically updated the building into a bright, modern salon with numerous work stations and comfortable waiting areas. A coffee shop now graces what was once the drive-up package liquor window facing Second Street.
The coffee shop is leased and operated by Sydney Gassiot and her mother Erica. Lincoln Street Cafe is up and running but will hold a grand opening celebration and sale on Aug. 25.
The salon features nine hair stations, two nail tables and two aesthetics rooms which are all rented by independent contractors. Cisneros’ own hair station is positioned in the middle. Most of the stations have already been rented by contractors, according to Cisneros.
Cisneros says he feels good about helping revive a corner that was troubled for years. “The (neighbors) love that I’ve done something with this,” said Cisneros.
The colorful history continues on this old block, except this time the colors are from nail polish.
Salon Emme’s Facebook page can be seen here. The Lincoln Street Cafe’s Facebook page is here.
Salon Emme features numerous styling and pedicure stations, along with comfortable waiting areas. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
Salon Emme is in a completely remodeled building that was home to The Lounge bar on the corner of Lincoln and Second for decades. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
Lincoln Street Cafe co-owner Sydney Gassiot poses in the drive-up window on Thursday morning. Gassiot and her mother Erica lease the space from Salon Emme owner Matt Cisneros. The shop is located in what used to be the Lounge’s drive-up package liquor area. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
Salon Emme features two rooms for massages, waxing and other spa treatments. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
(Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
Crews gut the former Lounge Bar and packaged liquor building in Oct. 2017. Little to nothing was left worth salvaging, according to owner Matt Cisneros. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
This section of the building, seen in Oct. 2017, was likely added in the late-50s or early-60s. After the Lounge closed it was used as a gaming business before sitting empty. It has now been converted into a luxury salon. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
(Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
Glazed brick gives splashes of space-age color on the side of the old Lounge Bar as seen in Oct. 2017. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
A detail of the Lounge’s old mid-century sign seen in Oct. 2017. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
The former Lounge Bar gives away an even older past as a ghost sign appears during a renovation in Oct. 2017. The former bar has been converted into a luxury hair and nail salon. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
At least two ghost signs appear on the older section of the former Lounge Bar on the corner of Second and Lincoln streets in Casper as seen during renovation in Oct. 2017. “B & B”, “Dairy O” and “Drive In” are visible. The building appears to be from the 1930s, with an addition to the east side added around the late-1950s. (Dan Cepeda, Oil City)
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