Hair & Hound Salon and Bar Hastings

LIFESTYLE

HAIR & HOUND: SALON AND BAR

“We used to sit in one of our favourite clubs and wonder if we could build a dance floor and be doing hair, but also have people around us partying.”

Businesses are often places of expression, where the owners who have something to say find a space from which to do just that.

Rachel and Jason King are the owners of Hair and Hound, a hair salon and cafe bar in Hastings, East Sussex. Hair and Hound is not only a play on words but also a company doing things quite differently. Combining the skills and experience of high-end hairdressing in London with a lifelong passion for bringing people together by way of great food, music, dance and drink.

Rachel was born in Sussex and grew up in Hastings before moving to London to embark on a career in hairdressing. It was there that she met her now business partner and husband Jason, who is originally from Australia and was also working in salons across the Capital together.

Both Rachel and Jason love clubbing, they first met on a night out when they spotted each dancing on separate podiums in a nightclub, they became good friends and went on to run their first hair salon near the Barbican for 16 years. For years they dreamed about combining their passions of dancing and hair, “We used to sit in one of our favourite clubs and wonder if we could build a dance floor and be doing hair, but also have people around us partying.”

“There was no time to settle into a new home and Lockdown meant we discovered our new home together as a family, which was lovely.”

For 25 years Rachel and Jason ran salons across London together before deciding that they wanted to move to the coast to begin their new concept.

After scouring the Kent coast for a new home, they eventually came full circle back to where Rachel had started, moving to Hastings in 2019. Even though the weather was far from its best when they first arrived, this did not dampen their spirits and immediately loved the area, deciding it was for them.

For the first two years, Jason and Rachel commuted from London, retaining their salon in Clerkenwell, but as Covid struck, their client base was devastated, which resulted in both being unable to work for a year as the pandemic rolled on and slowly ground life to a halt. "So, there was no time to settle into a new home and Lockdown meant we discovered our new home together as a family, which was lovely".

The situation proved to be a catalyst as the family became familiar with their new home, meeting local people and providing the impetus to take the plunge in finding a place to begin their new venture, “it gave us the push we needed” Jason said.

“With regards to hair, our style is one that looks good, is easy to wear and if you want to style it, you can, our style is classic, but modern at the same time.”

The shop they acquired was a former deli that they had frequented as a family, becoming friendly with the owner. When the owner decided not to re-open after another Lockdown, he reached out to Rachel and Jason to see if they would like to take it on.
Initially, they had a family dog (a friendly bribe to their youngest to move to Hastings) which half of the business is named however, their youngest child had a massive allergic reaction to the dog, which meant he had to go, but the association remained. "We now have the name up and we're going to add 'bar' to the end of it, so you can see both concepts in the name. "It's kind of like a riff on an old pub name. That's what we're aiming for.”
Hair and Hound opened their doors just after restrictions were lifted and were inundated. Jason explains; "With regards to hair, our style is one that looks good, is easy to wear and if you want to style it, you can, our style is classic, but modern at the same time.”

Rachel said of their clientele; “We have a broad spectrum of age groups. We seem to have always appealed to quite young, 20 somethings. Equally, because we've been hairdressing for as long as we have, we also have clients who are now in their 40s, 50’s, 60’s and beyond.”

“My food is simple but really tasty. We do small bowls and have cakes which I bake myself, I like to do everything from scratch. ”

Rachel has always had a love for cooking, especially for friends, her parents were publicans and hoteliers, so she grew up in hospitality, “I always wanted to do something in catering, but I fell into hairdressing.”

In 2015 Rachel set up a supper club which she ran from home with her friend, also named Rachel, so the supper club was named Rachel Squared. She loved the experience, “I knew from that point that we always wanted to combine people having a nice time, being able to have a drink and something nice to eat with what we do.”

Rachel and Jason have now started to introduce food and drink into the business, the interior is a comfortable and welcoming space and is an extension of their warm hospitality. which in turn, has been embraced by their customers, “It's been amazing because people know they can come and have their hair done, but also have a bite to eat afterwards.”

Rachel and Jason have plans to do more private functions and supper clubs. "So, we're going to start doing a monthly supper club. We've got tacos and tequila and plan to run that every month".

Downstairs is an inviting room; the idea is to turn this into a desk space for customers offering Wi-Fi by day and an intimate space in the evening for wedding guests or birthdays where between eight to ten people can be seated for private dining.

With a keen eye on British produced charcuterie and cheese, the food and drink at Hair and Hound are local and homemade.

Rachel explains; “My food is simple but really tasty. We do small bowls and have cakes which I bake myself, I like to do everything from scratch.”

Featured dishes include; black lentil dhal served with minted yoghurt and Brinjal pickle, little arancini balls, deep-fried olives with aioli, and local fennel salami served with sauerkraut.

A delicious selection of toasties are available, with locally produced cheese such as smoked Mayfield with creamed leeks and a Lord London cheese, which has a soft, brie consistency, accompanied with homemade cranberry relish.

In addition, all the cocktails at Hair and Hound are handcrafted with Rachel making the syrups, liqueurs and Amaretto, with approximately eight or nine cocktails on the menu at each time, with a view to these being self-poured and sold as a take-home cocktail.

Being lovers of great tasting coffee, they have chosen to serve Allpress coffee, a brand from East London which Rachel did Barista training with in the past. “I worked in a salon in London that had a little cafe for a short time and we always wanted to have the cafe, so I'd always kept in correspondence with the guys at Allpress, it's my favourite brand of coffee.”

There are more supper clubs and private functions being planned, which Rachel and Jason hope to run every month. There is also a cocktail night which runs every Friday 6-9 pm.

Hair and Hound is a fantastic salon and bar, an inspired destination shaped by Jason and Rachel’s vision and unique energy. A great addition to Hastings and we wish them every success.

@hairandhoundhastings

By Charles Osaji & Damien Pestell

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HAIR & HOUND: SALON AND BAR

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