Stonington — A Pawcatuck barber shop owner said she plans to reopen Wednesday morning in defiance of an executive order by Gov. Ned Lamont that keeps barber shops and salons closed until early next month.

Cat Thibodeau, the owner of Modern Barber and Shave on West Broad Street (Route 1), said she will be open at 9:30 a.m.

“If I don’t open tomorrow, I won’t be able to keep my doors open. This is dire for me. I had to make a decision,” she said Tuesday afternoon while standing on the porch of her shop, which is lined with American flags. “Two weeks (of closure) have turned into two months. It’s been long enough. We flattened the curve. We have to test the water at some point.”

Barber shops originally had been on the list of businesses that could reopen Wednesday with a long list of requirements to protect employees and customers. But on Monday, Lamont changed his mind, saying barber shops and hair salons had to stay closed until early June so the state would be in line with the schedule being used in Rhode Island. He also had been urged by some salon owners across the state to delay the reopening date because they were not ready to reopen or their employees had concerns about returning to work, including how to provide child care and home schooling.

Thibodeau, who said she was “flabbergasted” when she heard of Lamont’s reversal, is among a group of barber shop and salon owners across the state criticizing the governor’s decision.

“He’s not even going to give us 48 hours. I wouldn’t have time to move all my appointments,” she said, adding she is booked solid into June.

Thibodeau, who said she has spent thousands of dollars to buy gloves, masks, sanitizer and cleaning materials as well as software for an online booking system, said she fully expects she will be visited Wednesday by police and officials from the Ledge Light Health District.

“I can only do what I think is right and see what happens,” she said.

And that could mean getting shut down or facing enforcement action.

On Tuesday, Lamont issued a new executive order that allows state and local police to enforce violations of orders in response to a civil preparedness or public health emergency and gives local health directors the power to close businesses, such as restaurants and hair salons, that are violating the reopening regulations.

Thibodeau said that businesses, such as hers, that are ready to reopen should be allowed to do so while others that are not can choose to stay closed.

Thibodeau said she plans to have just herself in the shop and will allow only one customer inside at time. She said this will allow her to have about 15 customers a day and start paying some of her bills. She said the shop typically has 60 to 80 customers a day with other barbers working. She said both she and customers would wear masks.

Thibodeau has owned the shop for six years and last year moved to her newly renovated location next to Chelsea Groton Bank. On Tuesday, she listed the many bills that are piling up for her.

“All my customers are really excited to come back. It’s been two months without haircuts,” she said. “What's going to change by June 1?”

Norwich salon owner delays opening

Heidi Duff, owner of Details Hair Studio at 16 New London Turnpike, Norwich, said she was “ready to go” for Wednesday, and expressed frustration Tuesday that Lamont had ordered a delay in reopenings of all salons and barbershops because some of them were not ready.

She said she will reluctantly abide by the delay.

“You cannot close my business because other licensed professionals, even though the struggle is real, were unable to get day care or PPE (personal protective equipment),” she said.

Duff said she has been in contact with other salon owners who expressed similar anger and frustration. She understands the struggle by salon workers to find child care and said many salons and small businesses have the same problem.

“We are licensed by the state of Connecticut to get certified in sanitation protocol,” Duff said. “To ask us to do what we’re expected to do to begin with and a little bit more isn’t unreasonable.”

Duff said she had plans to open three of the six chairs in her salon and had purchased three different types of masks for her five “team members,” face shields, ultraviolet lighting and no-touch thermometers. She stayed in contact with all her regular distributors during the closure and had all the cleaning solution needed to follow state cleaning guidelines.

“The hundreds and thousands of dollars our salons are spending should not be penalized, because other salons are struggling to be prepared to go green,” Duff said. “We’ve had nine weeks to organize and work out a plan.”

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