Laurie O'Neill outside Salon@Church at 65 West Main Street, Welland

Welland, Ontario · Est. September 2020

She bought the church
behind her house
and rebuilt it.

Laurie O'Neill is the founder of Salon@Church — a consultation-first luxury hair and skin studio inside a restored circa-1906 church in downtown Welland. Fifteen years in the industry taught her that the difference between tired and finished is always the standard behind it.

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Laurie O'Neill, founder of Salon@Church
Laurie O'Neill · Founder

In Her Words

I bought a church and turned it into a salon because it deserved to be a place people felt safe walking into again. Laurie O'Neill · Founder, Salon@Church

Fifteen years in the chair. Seven thousand square feet. One building that had been neglected long enough that most people couldn't see what it could be — and one owner who could.

The Origin

There are two kinds of
big decisions. This was the second kind.

The church had always been on her radar — mostly because it was literally behind her house. But the week she decided it was time to build something of her own, "someday" turned into "right now."

She drove past the front of the building, saw the real estate sign, and went straight to James. He ran over, photographed the sign, emailed the realtor and told them not to entertain other offers. They booked the showing. They walked into what would become the salon floor, looked up at the refurbished tin ceiling — and it was decided.

It wasn't just a building. It was the blueprint for a standard.

Laurie O'Neill outside Salon@Church on West Main Street, Welland
The church at 65 West Main Street, Welland, lit from within at night

There's no perfect time. So we're doing it.

Laurie O'Neill · March 2020

What She Walked Into

Not a salon. A three-bedroom apartment.

Two bedrooms on the main floor. What is now the barbershop and bridal lounge was the primary suite. The shampoo area used to be the kitchen. The building had been poorly managed for years and the tenants had not been caretakers. It was still gorgeous — just not finished, and not styled.

c. 1906
Year the church was built
7,000 sq ft
Building footprint
3
Original features preserved
15+
Years in the industry

Preserved On Purpose

A building doesn't need every original detail to keep its soul. It needs the right ones.

Stained glass windows and chandelier inside Salon@Church
01

The stained glass

In winter, when the sun sets early, it throws colour across the floors and walls — sometimes onto a client's hair mid-service.

The restored tin ceiling above the salon floor at Salon@Church
02

The tin ceiling

Already restored when they bought it, and absolutely non-negotiable. Every single person who walks in says the same thing: "Oh wow, look at that ceiling."

The front entrance and reception desk at Salon@Church
03

The entrance railings

Kept so the building still reads as a church — without anyone feeling they need to belong to something in order to walk through the doors.

How It Went Down

The hardest part wasn't the renovation. It was 2020.

Jan 2020

Possession

Keys in hand — and none of them worked. Locks changed, building secured, cleaning, painting, ripping out what didn't belong and rebuilding what did.

Mar 2020

The world stopped

The plan had been to open in May. Budgets became uncertain, supply chains unpredictable, closures announced then changed then returned. Nobody knew when work would be legal again.

Sep 8 2020

Doors open

Mirrors up, chairs in, first haircut done. At that point it stopped being a dream and became a standard in motion.

Dec 2020

Shut down again

Three months after opening. That season is exactly why the standards here are non-negotiable — when everything else is unstable, stability has to come from somewhere.

The main salon floor at Salon@Church viewed from the loft

Luxury isn't a price point. It's how the service is delivered.

Laurie O'Neill

The Standard

What luxury means here, in practice.

Ask her team what her superpower is and they don't say colour. They say systems and processes. This is what that looks like from a client's chair — the things that happen every single time, whether anyone notices or not.

01

Mandatory consultation

The plan comes before the colour. Starting point, history, goal, maintenance comfort, timeline — assessed before anything is mixed.

02

Mandatory quoting

You know the number before the service, not after. Transparency is what trust is actually made of.

03

Maintenance planned ahead

The grow-out is part of the design. Appointments are booked at the right interval so results hold instead of collapsing at week three.

04

Timing respected

Your time is scheduled properly. No double-booking, no squeezing, no rushing the part that determines whether it lasts.

05

The details that make you exhale

Hot towels in winter. Cool towels and eye gels in summer. The door opened. Your coat hung. A beverage menu, and a liquor licence behind it.

06

Everyday clothes welcome

Built for luxury clients who don't want to dress up to be treated well. Not intimidating. Just taken care of.

Inside 65 West Main

Scroll the room →

The salon floor and tin ceiling at Salon@Church
The main floor
The bridal lounge at Salon@Church
Bridal lounge
The Eminence facial treatment room at Salon@Church
The skin studio
The barbershop area at Salon@Church
Barbershop
Laurie O'Neill working with a client at the shampoo bowl
At the bowl
A community concert set up inside Salon@Church
Concert nights
Laurie O'Neill in the salon lounge with a drink
Happy hour
The Salon@Church team walking on West Main Street in Welland

Still A Gathering Place

Churches were always more than buildings. They were rooms people came back to.

Salon@Church still hosts concerts select times of the year. People walk in and remember weddings, childhoods, family history. One client had been married in the building — she stood in the space and quietly relived what it meant to her.

If the building could talk about that renovation season, Laurie thinks it would say one thing: thank you.

For Journalists & Editors

Press & media kit.

Everything below is verified and on the record. For interviews, photography, or a site visit, contact Laurie directly.

Fast facts

  • NameLaurie O'Neill, Founder & Owner
  • BusinessSalon@Church, 65 West Main Street, Welland, ON
  • BuildingFormer church, built circa 1906
  • PurchasedPossession January 2020
  • OpenedSeptember 8, 2020
  • Size7,000 sq ft
  • PreservedStained glass · entrance railings · restored tin ceiling
  • Experience15+ years in the beauty industry
  • Known forSystems and processes — her team's words, not hers
  • SpecialtiesMaintenance-based colour, lived-in blonde, dimensional blonding, extensions, Eminence facials
  • ServesWelland, Fonthill, Pelham, Port Colborne, Thorold, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls
  • Contact+1 289-820-5557 · [email protected]

Story angles

The church that became a sanctuary for maintenance-based beauty

Calm luxury, consultation-first, standards over trends — and what happens to a business when the building sets the bar.

From pews to polished: a Welland church reimagined

Community, architecture and adaptive reuse at the busiest intersection in downtown Welland.

The operator behind the aesthetic

Ask her team what she is best at and they do not say hair. They say systems and processes — operational discipline turned into a standard clients can feel from the chair.

A different kind of restoration

Building restoration mirrored against confidence restoration — what hair and heritage have in common.

Opening a 7,000 sq ft business in 2020

Possession in January. Shutdown in March. Doors open in September. Closed again in December. What that year did to her standards.

Pull quotes

"There's no perfect time. So we're doing it."

"Every single person says, 'Oh wow, look at that ceiling.'"

"I asked my team what my superpower is. They said: systems and processes."

"All are welcome here."

"Luxury isn't a price point. It's how the service is delivered."

At the Studio

What Laurie and her team are known for

Hair colourMaintenance-based colour, lived-in blonde, dimensional blonding, grey coverage and correction.Explore → Hair extensionsCustom, I-tip and clip-in — method chosen at consultation, maintenance planned from day one.Explore → The skin studioCustomized Eminence facials treating a pattern, not a one-off.Explore → Bridal & occasionThe bridal lounge, the mimosas, and a timeline that actually holds.Explore → Happy hourYes, there's a liquor licence. Wine, beer, cider and seasonal cocktails.Explore → Meet the teamThe stylists and skin therapists holding the standard alongside her.Explore →

Questions

The ones she actually gets asked.

Laurie O'Neill is the founder and owner of Salon@Church in Welland, Ontario. She has more than 15 years in the beauty industry, and in January 2020 she purchased a circa-1906 church in downtown Welland and rebuilt it into a consultation-first luxury hair and skin studio, opening September 8, 2020.

The church sat directly behind her house, at the busiest intersection in Welland. When the salon she was working at changed ownership, she saw her opening to build something with her own standards — and something better for the next generation of stylists. She and James had always said that if the building ever came up for sale they would buy it. Not as a trophy. As a responsibility.

The plan comes before the service. Your starting point, hair or skin history, goal, maintenance comfort level and timeline are all assessed and quoted before anything is mixed. It protects integrity, sets expectations honestly, and designs for how the result grows out — not just how it looks on day one.

The stained glass windows, the railings in the front entrance, and the restored tin ceiling. Those three anchors carry the building's identity. Everything else — layout, lighting, in-floor heating, window film, entry flow — was modernized so the space works for guests now rather than being frozen in time.

Systems and processes. When asked to name her superpower she put the question to her own team, and that was their answer. It shows up as mandatory consultation and quoting, planned maintenance intervals, protected timing, and standards that hold whether or not anyone is watching — the operational discipline behind what clients experience as a calm, luxury visit.

No. The building's history is honoured and respected, but the studio has no religious affiliation and guests of every background are welcome. People still joke on the way in — "am I going to burn if I walk through the doors?" The answer is always the same: all are welcome here.

Discount shoppers, salon hoppers, quick-fix energy and trend-chasing without a plan. Not because anyone is unwelcome, but because not every model produces the same results — and this one is built for results that last.

The reception area at Salon@Church

65 West Main Street · Welland, Ontario

Come see the ceiling everyone talks about.

Consultation-first means you can walk in without over-explaining, without guessing what to book, and without wondering whether it will still look right in three weeks.

Book a consultation Call +1 289-820-5557