Business Profile: Hair Design Center, Yorktown

You could say the Benigni family is the embodiment of the American Dream.

The brothers were born in Italy and learned the craft of hair styling in their native land before living in London and then eventually moving to the United States.

For the past 38 years the brothers have owned and worked as hair stylists at Hair Design Center, located in the Underhill Plaza shopping center in Yorktown.

Osvaldo Benigni and his brother Luigi, who both reside in Dutchess County, are joined in the family business by Somers resident Stefania Rishel, Luigi’s daughter, who works as a hair stylist.

The brothers chose Underhill Plaza, the only location for their establishment, as the site of their business “mostly for convenience,” Osvaldo explained last week.

The brothers’ hair stylist careers began in Italy. “For us to leave the country we had to learn a job. And that’s what we did,” Osvaldo said, noting the brothers learned their craft through an apprenticeship.

After living in London, the brothers decided to come to America to be with other family members.

The brothers said they enjoy their profession. “(It’s) pretty good so far,” Luigi quipped. His brother said he particularly liked the social aspects of working as a hair stylist. “I like to talk to people, meet people, all different kinds of people,” Osvaldo said.

Osvaldo said there was no particular reason for naming the business Hair Design Center. “We just came up with it,” he said.

The business provides services for men and women of all ages, including hair cuts, shampooing and styling, “I cut everybody’s hair but I do more women,” Rishel said.

Rishel said she did not always plan to join the family business. “It just kind of evolved that way,” she said. “I went to school to be a teacher and I just ended up doing hairdressing. I like working with people.”

There is no difficulty working with her father, Rishel said. “Me and my dad get along great,” she said. “I’ve always been kind of daddy’s little girl.”

Osvaldo also said it is easy to work as a family and his brother said a key to the success of the business is its positive reputation, which has allowed it to develop a regular customer base. “We have quite a few who have come from the beginning,” Luigi said.

“Most of the people come through word of mouth,” Rishel said. “We’ve had them for many years. The average customer here has been coming for 15 years or so.”

Osvaldo said he had a straightforward goal for the family business. “So far so good,” he said. “We would like to stay in business for as long as we can.”

Hair Design Center is located in the Underhill Plaza shopping center at 1879 Commerce St. in Yorktown. For more information call 914-962-4411.

Neal Rentz