Marios is a family run hairdressing salon, that originally opened for business in Bradford in 1952.
Their
website has the following information.
"The story begins in 1938 when Naples born and based Ugo De Luca set up a salon in his home town with two of his brothers Guido and Mario.
Upon the outbreak of World War II, he was drafted, subsequently taken prisoner and spent the remainder of the war in a prisoner of war camp here in Yorkshire!
he war ended and on his release Ugo spent some time in Brighouse where he met his future wife Mary. Circumstances, however dictated his return to Naples and so the courtship was reliant on the postal services. He came back to Yorkshire, they married and both returned to Naples…..but Mary missed her family too much and couldn’t settle there, so he sold his share of the business to his brothers and undertook again, his well established journey to the UK leaving his beloved Naples for the happiness that Yorkshire would bring him.
Taking his brother’s name he and Mary opened their first Marios in 1952 and in what was then the railway station in Bradford, a city where, at that time, the standard of hairdressing was very basic. Ugo imported ideas and equipment from Italy and the business blossomed. Mary also worked in the salons whilst bringing up their three children Enzo, Adelina and Adrian, but the business needed more help and so, having rented out the Naples salon, Ugo’s two brothers obtained the necessary permits and came to the UK; first Guido and then in 1969 with his family…Mario.
Now, the family firm worked together and at one point, their efforts resulted in eight salons throughout Bradford and one in Leeds! With all the family involved this number decreased in the early 70’s to a total of four, three in the city center and one on the outskirts. Ugo’s two brothers ran the two principal salons at Kirkgate and the Wool Exchange, with other members of the family running the others.
The company was eventually streamlined to two main salons; Kirkgate and one in Market Street in Bradford city center.
Over the years, the world has both improved and deteriorated beyond measure and we’ve seen many changes to our city center…. But whilst Marios has expanded, always adapting new ideas and technology to the full, staying ahead of the game at all times, we still embrace the values of friendly, individual customer service that Ugo brought from Naples all those years ago.
We opened our doors in 1952 and they have remained open ever since. Marios, not just a hairdressing salon but also a piece of Bradford history."
This shop is the one on Kirkgate, at the end of the pedestrian area.