The Historic Sanibel Beauty Salon

The historic Sanibel Beauty Salon turns 70! Discover the stories & characters that created this charming piece of the Sanibel Story.

Sanibel Beauty Salon Car outside on Sanibel Island

The historic Sanibel Beauty Salon is turning a whopping 70 years old on Thursday, March 25th, 2021, it’s incredible! We were lucky enough to spend time with MaryAnne Banta, the daughter and now owner of the Sanibel Beauty Salon. The salon was opened by her mother, Mary Aleck on March 25th, 1951. Meet MaryAnne and her husband Joe in our latest video. Experience the fascinating history of the salon and her mother’s impact on Sanibel. Hear stories of MaryAnne growing up on Sanibel, her sweet marriage to Joe, and MaryAnne playing pranks on former Vice-President, Mike Pence!

Sanibel Beauty Salon
2248 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL 33957
239-472-1111

Hours of Operation:
Hours may vary, please call for hours

Visit The Sanibel Beauty Salon Website
Check Our Guide To The Best Sanibel Services
Check Out Our Guide To The Best Sanibel Shopping

A Brief History

Mary Aleck was born into a first-generation Greek Orthodox family on New Year’s Eve, 1925 in New Hampshire. She migrated south and came to Sanibel in the late 1940s to indulge in her love of shelling and on Greek Independence Day, March 25th, 1951 she opened the first beauty Salon on Sanibel. This was a huge achievement because Mary’s husband had to sign a proclamation, claiming she was competent, as a woman, to own and run a business! At the time, her brother John had moved to Sanibel. They developed the land where the beauty salon was located and built the Coconut Grove restaurant and the Island Shopping Center, now known as Bailey’s Shopping Center. Mary Aleck was very active in the community; she was highly respected and extremely loved.

Current Day

Mary Aleck’s daughter, MaryAnne Banta who is featured in our video, now runs the Sanibel Beauty Salon. She grew up on Sanibel spending time shelling, eating coquina broth and prickly pears, and as you can imagine has seen an enormous amount of development and growth including, the first Sanibel Causeway! She met her husband Joe through meddling friends who set them up convinced they would “hit it off”. 30 years later they are still together and Joe runs Barefoot Charters out of Castaways Marina. MaryAnne has also scored some high-profile clients that return to her salon when they are here, longtime visitor and former Vice President Mike Pence pops in to see MaryAnne when he is feeling like a trim. Watch our video to find out the mischievous prank MaryAnne played on him during his last visit!

The Historic Sanibel Beauty Salon – Fun Facts!

Mary Aleck’s first phone number for the salon, which is still the salon’s number, was 472-1111. She used to use a red phone on the wall as a pretend “hotline” because the number was so easy to remember for everyone in the community.
Alecks Alley, which travels behind the Bailey’s Shopping Center, was named after Mary Aleck in recognition of her impact on the Sanibel Community.
At Mary Aleck’s first salon, there was no running water so there was a cistern to collect rainwater out the back of the salon and, sometimes, women would sit outside the salon and dry their hair.
Mary Aleck founded the first Girl Scout Troop on Sanibel.
Mary had an extensive shell collection and much of it was donated to the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum.
Former Vice-President Mike Pence stops by once in a while for a cut!

Make Mary Aleck’s Coquina Broth!

Ingredients
Fresh coquinas
1 small carrot, grated finely
1 small stalk celery, grated finely
water
pinch of salt
white pepper (optional)
2 potatoes, chopped finely (optional)

Steps
Fill a large kettle 1/3 full of clean, fresh coquinas. Completely cover with cold water; bring to a boil. Coquinas will open up and fill the kettle.
Boil 3-5 minutes, then drain broth into a smaller pan.
If potatoes are used, add to broth.
Return to medium heat. Add grated carrot and celery. Season to taste and serve.

Source: Mary Aleck in The Sanibel-Captiva Cookbook.

Restaurants Close To The Historic Sanibel Beauty Salon

There are several restaurants close to the historic Sanibel Beauty Salon and in fact, not too far away is George And wendy’s Seafood Grille which was originally Mary Alecks brother’s restaurant, The Coconut Grove! Also nearby is the Sanibel Cafe which has been around since 1978!