Business Profile: Salon Amore, Mahopac
The passion that Maria Stiefeld has for life is reflected in everything that surrounds her… her family, work and the community.
Stiefeld, a Somers resident, has been a hairstylist in the Mahopac community for over 30 years. She has both owned her own shop and work for others. In her latest venture, Stiefeld has joined forces with her daughter Stephanie Pratarelli to open Salon Amore along Route 6.
“Stephanie has been working on people’s hair with me since she was 12 years old,” said Stiefeld. “She couldn’t at the last salon I was at, but life has brought us full circle and we are together again.”
Pratarelli is a single mom who is also going to school to be a medical technician. For her the salon is more than just an investment, it is like coming home.
When the two decided that Pratarelli would open up a salon in Mahopac the hardest thing was to come up with a name.
“My husband and I were driving in the car as we were talking to Stephanie about the name,” recalled Stiefeld. “He turned to me and said ‘You know Maria, I could just see you having a salon amore again.’ I just looked at my husband and knew that that was it.”
Unlike other hair salons in the area, Salon Amore has a comfortable “Steel Magnolias”-type of feel to it. Women who did know each other before walking into the place leave as fast friends.
“I think Salon Amore is just a salon of love and family,” said Stiefeld. Her clients agree.
“This is family,” said Anna O’Connor, the assistant principal at Mahopac Middle School who has been using Stiefeld for years. “You can feel the love in this place and it is exactly like Maria.”
Joining Stiefeld and Pratarelli at Salon Amore is Mary Heady, who worked with Stiefeld at other salons, as well as hairstylist Virna Moglia, makeup artist Marissa Dimucci and licenses massage therapist Grant Hutchby.
O’Connor, who lives in Carmel, said that Stiefeld and Heady are two of the most active people she knows in the community.
“They are wonders,” O’Connor said. “They give back more than anyone else I know. They have always just reached out to the community and have never expected anything in return.”
Stiefeld and Heady have been steadfast in their commitment to the annual Freezin’ for a Reason Lake Jump in Mahopac. Their team is regularly one of the top fundraising teams for the event.
The duo are expanding their efforts. They are now also raising money for the Mahopac Relay for Life event after their friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Additionally, staff from Salon Amore was at the MS Walk last weekend offering orange hair extensions to the participants with the proceeds benefiting the walk.
“This community has been really good to us,” said Stiefeld. “We love being able to give back.”
Believing in the pay-it-forward attitude, Stiefeld thinks that providing a positive atmosphere adds to the value of the full-service salon that offers cuts, color, keratin treatments, spray tans, make up and massages.
“We always believe in providing great service at a great price with a smile and a cup of coffee,” said Stiefeld.
Salon Amore is located next door to Lake Mahopac Pharmacy at 559 Route 6 in Mahopac.
It is open Tuesday – Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For information call 845-803-8015 or search for Salon Amore on Facebook.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.