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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING MARIO’S BARBER SHOP FOR ITS 50 YEARS OF BUSINESS IN PARK RIDGE
WHEREAS, Mario’s Barber Shop, located in the Crossroads Shopping Plaza at 1017 N. Northwest Highway in Park Ridge, gave its last haircut on March 15, 2021; and
WHEREAS, Mario’s Barber Shop opened in 1969 by its namesake, Mario Magnelli; and
WHEREAS, long-time customers spoke highly of Magnelli, an engaging and happy man, who died in 2007 after running the barber shop for 38 years; and
WHEREAS, the space at this location has been a barber shop dating back to 1955 and was originally known as Lou’s Barber Shop; and
WHEREAS, owner Michael Pascolla purchased the barber shop in 2011; and
WHEREAS, stylist Jackie Loconti worked at Mario’s for 16 years and was the last of Magnelli’s staff still working at the shop; and
WHEREAS, the barber shop was a neighborhood institution that served multiple generations of the same families. No matter how far away clients moved, they always came back to Mario’s for their haircuts; and
WHEREAS, Pascolla described the business as an old-fashioned, old-school barber shop, equipped with vintage barber chairs. The phone number hadn’t changed since the 1950s, and for decades, stylists booked appointments using the shop’s original phone; and
WHEREAS, Mario’s Barber Shop was one of the many small local businesses that could not bounce back from the impact the pandemic has had on businesses everywhere.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby honor Mario’s Barber Shop for its fifty years in business; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be tendered to owner Michael Pascolla as a token of our appreciation for his efforts keeping Mario’s Barber Shop the neighborhood fixture it was.
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