Business: Antoine’s Beauty Salon

Story

Anthony Barakat’s Beauty Salon at 114 Boundary Street West End opened in 1962. Having done some hairdressing in Lebanon, Anthony started his career in Australia working in a salon in the Brisbane CBD. When his wife, Mary (nee George) noticed an empty shop in Boundary Street West End, they decided to open their own salon. It took the young couple three years to pay for the fittings and fixtures, but this proved to be a sound investment as they operated the salon for 33 years.

By 1965, they had opened a second salon at 88 Merthyr Road New Farm. While they opened other salons, they eventually decided to focus on Coorparoo, West End and the Valley. The business became a family affair as four of Tony and Mary’s five children became hairdressers:
‘Then our children grew up [and] wanted to do hairdressing. So they all moved in working with us [and] eventually took over. Joseph took West End; Anthony, Coorparoo; and we stayed then in the Valley. And then we sold to my cousin, Barbara…Barbara George. And there you go, that’s it’.

References

Brisbane Telephone Directory, 1965 and 1977-78.
Mary Barakat, interview with Anne Monsour, Brisbane, 2019.