Eat Cake and Get a Haircut at Bella Moda

Eric Gross Josephine Altobelli (left) and Maria Stiefeld have opened Bella Moda on Route 6 near Union Valley Road in Mahopac. Childhood friends whose families emigrated to the United States from Italy decades ago have opened Putnam County’s newest hair salon.

Bella Moda, at 271 Route 6 in Mahopac, is being tabbed as a “full-service salon” by its owners, Maria Stiefeld and Josephine Altobelli.

Altobelli worked for Stiefeld at a former salon a decade ago, and last month, when the opportunity arose for the long-time friends to open their own business, they took the plunge and on Monday Bella Moda saw its first customers.

Why Bella Moda?

Maria’s mom suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and the only word she is able to say is “bella.” When visiting the nursing home where the woman resides, her daughter said, “all you hear is ‘Bella! Bella! Bella!’ I am honoring my mom by naming the salon after her with the word ‘moda’ which in Italian means ‘style.’”

One of the first customers at the new salon was former Putnam Legislator and Putnam’s first Deputy County Executive, Regina Morini, who was on hand for the opening of the women’s first business venture in 1994. Morini said she “felt the love 15 years ago and I feel that same love today.”

What sets the new business apart from most other hair salons is a kitchen table. “What brings a family and friends together? A kitchen table! At our table, coffee and cake is always served, along with playing cards and newspapers and magazines. Clients sit around and mingle and talk. Bella Moda is more than a haircut or hair styling. Customers visiting our salon are family, which is the old world way, and our way,” said Maria.

Altobelli described herself and her partner as “two moms and two wives who love to do hair. We invite our clients to visit our kitchen table, have a cup of coffee while getting their hair done, and feel beautiful.”

Only environmentally friendly products are used at Bella Moda.

The salon is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 6pm; Thursday from 9am to 8pm and Saturday from 8:30am to 5pm. Bella Moda is open on Sunday and Monday for special occasions.

Appointments can be made by calling 628-6667.