Due to the sensitive and/or legal subject matter of some of the content on globalnews.ca, we reserve the ability to disable comments from time to time. Please see our Commenting Policy for more. For nearly five decades, Pat Cudmore has made a career out of helping people feel good when they leave her chair. Now, the longtime Kelowna hairstylist is facing an uncertain future as the salon where she has worked for the past 15 years prepares to close. Kelowna Hair Design, located on Gordon Drive, is expected to shut its doors in March 2027 after owner Colleen Woelders decided the ongoing challenges surrounding the property had become too difficult to manage. Woelders says repeated incidents of vandalism, property damage and social disorder have contributed to the decision. Staff have regularly dealt with garbage and debris around the business, while more serious incidents have included broken windows and doors. Cudmore says employees have also encountered people carrying weapons. “A guy with a machete. Another one had a gun. We’ve dealt with axes, we’ve got knives, broken windows, broken doors.” The closure is particularly difficult for Cudmore, who has spent 48 years working in the hair industry and built a loyal clientele at the Gordon Drive location. “My clients are great. My clients, after this many years, they’re like family.” She hopes she can continue working and that her clients will follow her if a new location is found. Woelders is considering relocating the salon, but has not yet found another space. Cudmore says some clients may also face challenges getting to a different location, particularly those who do not drive. The closure comes as Kelowna’s newly elected council prepares to take on what Coun. Rick Webber says was one of the clearest concerns he heard from voters during the election campaign. Webber says public safety and social disorder were repeatedly raised by residents, and he expects the issues to be among council’s top priorities. “I think there’s a couple of reasons for hope and one is the new councillors; they’ve just come in straight from talking to voters and they know the frustration out there.” The new council now has to turn those concerns into a plan. Webber says council has not yet met to establish its priorities, and no single councillor can solve the problem alone. The next step will be sitting down with staff to determine what changes can realistically be made. He says that process will take time, potentially several months, before new ideas can become an action plan. Webber also points to the city’s existing efforts, including maintaining a strong police presence, expanding bylaw enforcement and working with the Downtown Kelowna Association. For businesses like Kelowna Hair Design, the challenge is whether those plans can make a difference quickly enough. Woelders is still hoping to find another location for the salon, while Cudmore is left waiting to find out where she will work next. For Cudmore, the uncertainty extends beyond finding another chair. After nearly 50 years in the industry, she says she is not ready to stop working. And while the Gordon Drive salon may be closing, she hopes the relationships built there will continue somewhere else. “I’m not ready to quit. Not ready to give up on them.” Says Pat Add Global News as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our stories in your search results.
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