- In 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated Wink Salon, destroying its flagship location and significantly impacting its business.
- Owners Christine DiBenedetto and Gilda Santiago undertook a two-year journey to rebuild and redefine the salon’s main location.
- The transformation resulted in a new business model that marks a significant departure from its original form.
For 22 years, Wink Salon has been a fixture in Asheville, North Carolina’s beauty scene. Co owners Christine DiBenedetto and Gilda Santiago built an employee-focused business centered on education, career development and entrepreneurship. Twenty years into their business journey, Wink had two locations – a 22-chair salon in Biltmore Village and an eight-chair salon near downtown Asheville. On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene struke western North Carolina and destroyed Wink’s flagship location and, with it, more than 70% of its business.
Overnight, the business went from 30 chairs to just eight. Thanks to years of careful business planning, a caring community of stylists, and a hefty dose of faith in themselves and their business model, Wink Salon will reopen its flagship location in October 2026 – a full two years after Helene struck.
Rather than simply rebuild what was lost, Santiago and DiBenedetto used their experience to rethink their business, their leadership, and what they want Wink’s next chapter to look like…