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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

Haircuts, manicures and bicep curls: Long-closed Georgia businesses reopen amid COVID-19 pandemic

Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Noah Nichols works out at the Rock Fitness Center on Friday, April 24, 2020 in Ringgold, Ga. Gyms, along with hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors were among the businesses allowed to open on Friday.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Noah Nichols works out at the Rock Fitness Center on Friday, April 24, 2020 in Ringgold, Ga. Gyms, along with hair salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors were among the businesses allowed to open on Friday.

On Friday morning in the parking lot of Battlefield Salon in Fort Oglethorpe, Sharon Walker sat in her car and waited for the new coloring in her hair to set in.

There was a white garbage bag covering the headrest in her SUV and foils still in her hair.

Walker scrolled around on her phone for a bit before looking at her nails.

“I might go get my nails done too,” Walker said. “They’re getting so long.”

Walker was one of a half dozen people who waited in their vehicles outside the salon either before or during their hair appointments as certain businesses across the state opened in Georgia as part of Gov. Brian Kemp’s aggressive plan to reopen the state’s economy.