Meet the new business owner in downtown Gastonia
A little more than a decade ago, Molly Prescott was homeless. After an abusive relationship, she lost her apartment, and she became addicted to Xanax.
"I had lost my house, my car, my kid, my job. My entire life was spiraling out of control, and I had to fix it," Prescott said.
And Prescott did. She went to rehab and got a job working as a barber for a corporate haircutting franchise. Eventually, her life stabilized, and more recently, she opened her own barbershop in downtown Gastonia.
"I started at the bottom. I went to a place where I could grow as a stylist and as a person. I had to really dig deep within myself and figure out what I wanted and how I wanted to do it," she said. "I struggled, and I kept cutting hair and I kept talking to people, and I have built my way up to now owning a salon, which is a huge, huge milestone for me."
Prescott now lives in Mount Holly, and her barbershop, Faded Cuts and Shaves, located at 192 S. South St., opened July 1.
The barbershop is located where Spindle Center Barber Shop once was. Spindle Center Barber Shop was located on South South Street for more than 50 years. The shop closed when Charlie Faulkner, the lone barber working at the shop, moved to Brookwood Barbershop at 1202 S. York St. in January 2023.
For her part, Prescott came up with the idea for the shop when she ate at Webb's Custom Kitchen, a nearby restaurant, and saw the "for rent" sign.
She said she wants to honor the history of the old building.
"We kept the old vibe. We remodeled. We painted. We upgraded just the décor. I have all of the old stuff that they had left in here. In the bathroom I have pictures throughout the years of the gentlemen who worked here," Prescott said. "I want to keep the same concept, but we've added more of a new spin on it. Every haircut comes with a shampoo for quality."
The barbershop is geared toward men, although Prescott can cut anyone's hair.
"But it's more marketed for the male community," she said. "We're just trying to keep this legacy alive for a barbershop being here and for the town to come and enjoy."
Prescott said that after the difficulties she's experienced in her own life, she wants to give back to the community, to be the kind of person she herself needed so many years ago.
"It's been a lot of ups and downs. I have worked very, very hard at becoming the person that I think that somebody else needs. Back then I felt like I didn't have anybody that had my back," she said. "So now that I'm here, I want to be the person that people look up to, that people come to."
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Meet the new business owner in downtown Gastonia
