Althea Williams-Little has owned and operated Hair to Go Natural on Main Street in downtown Buffalo for 30 years, the first decade on Allen Street and the past 20 years at the current address. The salon was Buffalo's first braid and loc shop, opening at a time when natural hair services were difficult to source locally.

"We came at a time when no one was doing it," Williams-Little said. "We were the first braid and loc shop in Buffalo. I could stand on that."

What services define the business?

The salon's menu centers on natural hair care: braids, twists, locs, and weaves. Williams-Little has since added barbering and esthetician services to meet demand from a diversifying client base that now includes a growing share of men.

"Everybody gets locs now," she said. "It doesn't matter the color. We have a large, diverse clientele. We do everyone."

Locs styles have shifted considerably since the salon opened. Clients now request color and finished styles that were uncommon in earlier decades, and demand for natural alternatives to chemical treatments continues to grow, according to Williams-Little.

How far does the client base reach?

Customers travel from Canada, Pennsylvania, and Ohio for the salon's braiding and loc work, Williams-Little said. Longtime clients return with their children and grandchildren, a pattern she credits to the shop's first-mover reputation.

"We keep a lot of old clientele and their children and their grandchildren," she said.

What role does the salon play beyond services?

Williams-Little teaches braiding classes, including "Daddy and Me" sessions designed to help fathers wash, condition, detangle, and style their children's textured hair. She also runs adoption classes for parents navigating textured hair care for the first time, covering product selection and basic styling.

She tied that work to a measurable impact on the children involved. Learning how to care for textured hair can shape a child's confidence and self-esteem, she said.

How did the business weather COVID-19?

Hair to Go Natural closed for three months during the pandemic, the longest break Williams-Little said she has taken in three decades of working. When the shop reopened, clients returned with hair that had gone months without professional service.

"They still came," she said. "People came back with matted hair, tangled hair. They didn't do it themselves. And that was the scary part because we had a lot of work to do."

The Main Street location has helped draw new customers from Buffalo's growing theater and entertainment district, while clients who followed the business from Allen Street continue to book appointments, she added.

What comes next for the founder?

Williams-Little is now actively searching for a successor to keep the Hair to Go Natural name and its service mix intact. The search comes as National Black Business Month, observed each August, highlights more than 3 million Black-owned businesses across the United States.

She framed the transition as a continuity question rather than a sale. "I hope they will keep it going," she said. "I'm hoping that the name carries on."

Williams-Little also pointed to gaps she sees in Buffalo's Black business landscape. Restaurant, hair, and barbering segments dominate, but she would like to see more Black entrepreneurs move into real estate and home renovation, citing Buffalo's historic housing stock as an untapped opportunity.

"To me, there hasn't been enough changes," she said. "Everything's moving slow to me and the money is going in places that probably it shouldn't be."

Whoever takes over the salon will inherit a textured-hair service menu, a braiding and locs training program, and a multigenerational client book spanning two countries and three U.S. states — a foundation Williams-Little expects the next owner to extend rather than replace.