Nano’s Hangout: Unwind, eat and shop at one stop

Entrepreneur Saeeda Effendi says operating three businesses at one place makes things easy.

KARACHI: Sit back, enjoy your pedicure, and while a salon girl files your nails, savour some Hyderabadi delights. On your way out after a day of pampering, pick something you like from a range of ajraks placed on racks.

If this sounds tempting, you’ll be glad to know that entrepreneur Saeeda Effendi is offering all of it under one roof — Nano’s Hangout located at Tauheed Commercial area in Phase V. Nano’s Hangout, which was previously just a food catering company dealing with fresh and frozen Hyderabadi cuisine, now incorporates three of Effendi’s businesses — salon, food, clothing — together.

The manicure and pedicure offered at the salon are priced at Rs450 and Rs550, respectively. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

When asked why she named the place Nano’s Hangout, Effendi had a story to tell. “This is where my mother used to live. My children, who call her nano, used to come visit her. Now my grandchildren come to this place, too and it has become their ‘nano’s hangout’ too,” she explains.

Effendi opened up her first salon in 1975 at the Intercontinental Hotel (now Pearl Continental Hotel), a venture in which she partnered up with her close friend Azra Hasan. However, later on, due to her husband’s reservations about her business, Effendi had to quit altogether.

When asked how she feels about returning to the trade years later, she says, “I love it and I am enjoying it once again. Now that I have three businesses operating under one roof, it is very easy for me,” says Effendi, adding that she is very concerned about quality and managing the businesses together makes the check and balance easy for her.

The manicure and pedicure offered at the salon are priced at Rs450 and Rs550, respectively. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

The salon offers hair-cutting, colouring and styling along with skin services including facials, massages and party make-up. Nano’s Hangout, which opens at 10:30am and closes its doors at 7:30pm, offers reasonable services. Their manicure is priced at Rs450, pedicure at Rs550 and party make-up at Rs5,000. Most salons in DHA Phase V offer a manicure for Rs800 with a pedicure for Rs1,000.

Effendi, who seemed very excited about the venture, says she wants clients to drop by at the salon to unwind after a long, tiring day at work. “I am ready to welcome my friends here [at the salon]. I want them to enjoy and feel light after the day has ended.”

One of Effendi’s friends, Sara Munir, got a haircut done similar to one Effendi gave her at her previous salon years back. “I loved the cut she [Effendi] gave me at her previous salon. I am reliving the same feeling I felt back then; it’s like déjà vu,” says Munir.

Another of Effendi’s friends, Ayesha Durrani, says that she invited her daughter-in-law’s mother to the salon, too, so she can enjoy herself and have a good time.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.                    

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