A salon now located on Main Street in downtown Buffalo, has been owned and operated by Althea Williams-Little for more than 30 years.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — As Buffalo celebrates Black Business Month this August, one downtown business is marking more than three decades of serving customers from across Western New York and beyond.
Hair to Go Natural, located on Main Street in downtown Buffalo, has been owned and operated by Althea Williams-Little for more than 30 years. Williams-Little said she spent her first 10 years on Allen Street before moving the salon to its current Main Street location, where it has operated for 20 years.
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Williams-Little said Hair to Go Natural was Buffalo’s first braid and loc shop, opening at a time when natural hair services were difficult to find.
“We came at a time when no one was doing it,” Williams-Little said. “We were the first braid and loc shop in Buffalo. I could stand on that.”
The salon specializes in natural hair care, including braids, twists, locs and weaves. Williams-Little said demand for natural hairstyles has grown as more people seek alternatives to chemical treatments.
She has also seen the clientele become increasingly diverse.
“Everybody gets locs now,” she said. “It doesn’t matter the color. We have a large, diverse clientele. We do everyone.”
Men have also become a growing part of the salon’s customer base as locs and other natural styles have become more common. The business has expanded its services to include barber and esthetician services.
Williams-Little said styles have evolved considerably since she entered the industry. Locs, for example, are now frequently colored and styled in ways that were less common decades ago.
The salon’s reach extends beyond Buffalo. Williams-Little said customers travel from Canada, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, while longtime customers have returned to the salon with their children and grandchildren.
“We keep a lot of old clientele and their children and their grandchildren,” she said.
The salon also plays an educational role in the community. Williams-Little teaches braiding classes, including “Daddy and Me” sessions designed to help fathers care for and style their children’s hair.
She also offers adoption classes to help parents who may be unfamiliar with caring for textured hair. The classes cover washing, conditioning, detangling, products and basic styling.
Williams-Little said learning how to care for textured hair can have an important impact on a child’s confidence and self-esteem.
Hair to Go Natural also survived the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Williams-Little recalled the salon’s three-month closure as an unusual break after spending most of her adult life working.
When the business reopened, customers returned with hair that had gone months without professional care.
“They still came,” she said. “People came back with matted hair, tangled hair. They didn’t do it themselves. And that was the scary part because we had a lot of work to do.”
Williams-Little said the salon has benefited from its Main Street location and its proximity to Buffalo’s growing theater and entertainment district. She said the location has helped bring in new customers while retaining clients who followed the business from Allen Street.
Still, she believes more investment is needed in Buffalo’s inner city.
“To me, there hasn’t been enough changes,” Williams-Little said. “Everything’s moving slow to me and the money is going in places that probably it shouldn’t be.”
She also sees room for Black entrepreneurs to diversify beyond industries such as restaurants, hair salons and barber shops.
Williams-Little said she would like to see more Black-owned businesses explore areas such as real estate and home renovation, pointing to Buffalo’s historic housing stock as an opportunity.
National Black Business Month, observed each August, highlights Black-owned businesses and the economic challenges they face. The United States is home to more than 3 million Black-owned businesses.
For Williams-Little, the month is also a reminder of the importance of sustaining businesses that have served their communities for generations.
After more than 30 years in business, she is now looking for someone to carry Hair to Go Natural into its next chapter.
“I’m looking for my successor now,” Williams-Little said.
Her hope is that whoever takes over will preserve the business and its name — and continue serving the generations of customers who have made Hair to Go Natural a fixture in Buffalo’s Black business community.
“I hope they will keep it going,” she said. “I’m hoping that the name carries on.”
