Kruse N’ Style has been a staple of Merritt’s hair and beauty industry for more than three decades, with owner Cindy Kruse opening up shop 33 years ago, first operating out of a storefront she split with her father. 

“When I started the salon, the new Merritt store was purchased by my father, it’s where Quilchena Cannabis is now… he cut the building in half and I built my salon.”

There was also an apartment in the back of the building where Kruse lived, making the salon her full-time home and business for several years. 

Kruse N’ Style operated out of this original location for 23 and a half years before moving into the storefront that the salon now occupies at 1990 Quilchena Ave. 

Before this, Kruse had moved away to live and work in Kamloops, where she pursued her hairdressing career.

“I think that I wanted to do it even when I was very young, like when you’re doing Barbie doll hair,” said Kruse. 

However, Kruse found that she didn’t enjoy life in the city as much as she’d thought, and it didn’t take long until she decided that a move back to the Nicola Valley was in order. 

“I’d been born and raised here, and I used to come home every weekend and cut hair in my parents’ basement, so I had a large clientele already in Merritt,” explained Kruse.

“It just kind of made sense to give it a whirl and go into business.” 

It was at this time that Kruse took up space in the other half of her father’s shop. However, she was still facing a bit of a conundrum. What should she name her new business? 

Although she gave it considerable thought, she was stumped and couldn’t come up with a name that she liked.

“I didn’t know what to name the salon, I really struggled to name the salon,” said Kruse.

She reached out to the community she planned to serve and asked what they thought her business should be called. 

“I put a contest in the Merritt Herald for a $50 gift certificate.” 

After sifting through the various submissions, ‘Kruse N’ Style’ emerged as a top contender, and became the official name of Cindy’s salon, with Wendy Taylor winning the contest and the $50 gift certificate. 

Now, Kruse credits the success of the salon to the consistent, quality service that clients receive from both herself and her staff, some of whom have been there since the salon first opened its doors. 

Although the COVID-19 pandemic made things difficult for salons, Kruse has said that since reopening there have been no issues and that her clients have been supportive and cooperative. 

“Even through COVID we have survived quite well because we have such a loyal clientele,” said Kruse. 

“I have incredible staff, Jeanine has been here since day one, Darcy came one year later, Sherry’s been here for nine years, Maureen’s been here for four years. It’s not often you get a group of girls like this.”

The staff are so popular that Kruse N’ Style has been voted ‘Best Hair Salon’ in the Herald’s People’s Choice Awards two years in a row. 

As for COVID-19 safety precautions, everything is sanitized on a regular basis. The front door remains locked with clients being let in at their appointment time. Hand sanitizer is presented at the front door, and customers are given a fresh mask to put on.

Once in that chair, the list of services is nearly endless, as there is a wide variety of expertise amongst the staff. 

“Each of us have a unique quality and we complement each other,” said Kruse. 

“And a lot of times when a client is phoning and they’re looking for something or describing something specific we’re able to know each other well enough that we can steer the client in that direction.” 

Although there were no doubt opportunities along the way for Kruse to move her business to a bigger centre, she is glad she made the decision to stay in Merritt.

“I like living in a small town, I like a simple life,” said Kruse. 

“It beats living in such a busy city, you get to know your clients on a personal level. Here when you walk into the grocery store or if you walk into the pharmacy or Fields, you recognize faces, you know people.”