Chiki Fruit And Bionicos
After meeting her husband on a trip to Long Beach to visit her sister, Chiki Fruit and Bionicos Owner Elizabeth Mendieta moved to the city from Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2003. Three and a half years ago, she decided to open a shop similar to the one she helped her family run in Mexico. Chiki Fruit and Bionicos features sandwiches, smoothies and Mexican delicacies such as its namesake “bionico,” an assortment of fruit bathed in a cream mixture topped with shredded coconut, granola and raisins. Mendieta’s bestsellers are smoothies and panini sandwiches with fruit on the side. “There is no sugar in the smoothies. Everything is healthy and more natural,” she said. Chiki Fruit also offers a wide selection of Mexican candy. Another popular item is the diablito, a drink with shaved ice, fruit, Tajín (a Mexican brand of seasoning made of up chili peppers, lime and salt), and chamoy, a Mexican condiment made of pickled fruit and chili. Mendieta’s shop serves a different smoothie recipe dedicated to each day of the week. If a customer orders the smoothie of the day, the second smoothie is half-price. Mendieta chose her location because she lived in an apartment complex nearby, later buying a house in the area. She said she enjoys the service aspect of her business as well as cooking. Chiki Fruit and Bionicos is located at 4102 Orange Ave., Suite 105. For more information, call 562/528-8932 or visit www.chikifruitandbionicos.com.
Donato’s Hair Salon
Donato’s Hair Salon Owner Leah Farris, who specializes in hair services for senior citizens, said some of her clients have been seeing her since she started styling hair in the early 1960s. “I started when I was 18,” she said. “My clients and I all grew up together. Some of them are four generations. Kids, their mothers and the grandkids come to see me.” Originally from Blythe, California, Farris moved to Long Beach to attend cosmetology school. “My dad wanted all his girls to learn a trade,” she said. Farris bought the salon in 1996 from her former boss, who was retiring. Some of her services include perms, which she said many salons do not offer anymore, body waves and coloring. “A lot of salons don’t have dryers or roller sets. They only use blow dryers,” Farris said. “My clients still like to sit under the dryer, relax and read magazines.” As her clients have passed away, she said she has styled hair for several of their funerals. “It’s my way of saying thank you for being with me all these years,” she said. Farris said that her clients are like family, and that her business is more of a hobby now. She keeps a shelf with coffee mugs for anyone who drops by for a chat. “My clients go to lunch together. They meet here and have coffee, sit and visit whether they have an appointment or not.” Donato’s Hair Salon is located at 4102 Orange Ave., Suite 121. For more information, call 562/428-4000.
Sabi’s Eyebrow Threading
Shabitra Oli moved to Long Beach in 2002 with her husband and son from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Her family came to the United States through the diversity lottery, a program created in 1990 that reserves a certain number of visas for citizens of countries with low immigration rates to the United States. Oli said she had worked an office job in her home country, but she started threading eyebrows in Long Beach when a friend offered her a job in her salon. Threading is a form of hair removal that involves a cotton thread twisted into a double strand. The stylist sweeps it along the skin, and unwanted hairs are caught in the thread and removed. In addition to eyebrows, Oli provides threading for hair on the upper lip, forehead, cheeks and the side of the face. According to Oli, threading is a more precise hair-removal technique than waxing as it pulls the hair from the root rather than breaking it. Oli said that she has retained many of the clients she started out with 16 years ago, with some coming from as far away as Riverside. “My clients love me and I love them,” she said. “I like the people down here [in Southern California]. My neighbors are nice.” In addition to her beauty services, Oli sells makeup and jewelry such as bracelets, earrings, toe rings and jeweled bindi, which are forehead decorations typically worn at Indian weddings. Sabi’s Eyebrow Threading is located at 4102 Orange Ave., Suite 125. For more information, call 562/424-0892.