JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tenants renting a space at Infinity Salon Suites on the Southside said they are stuck in limbo after the business owner was evicted from the property. The abrupt closure left hair stylists without their tools and supplies and some couldn’t serve their clients for days.
Some told News4JAX they had thousands of dollars worth of equipment behind the locked doors when they showed up to work on Friday and were surprised to be met by police who were changing the locks. People at the suites said they were finally able to go in and get their stuff on Monday evening.
The Infinity Salon Suites owner said the eviction also came as a surprise to her, and that’s why she couldn’t give her tenants proper notice.
“They came in pretty much yelling it down the hallway, letting everyone know, ‘Hey, this is an eviction. Everybody get out, you got to get out,’” Kendrick Williams, a barber, said.
“I was only able to grab like my blow dryer or curling iron and like a couple other things, but like, probably like $10,000 worth of stuff is still in there like color, like everyone knows, like colors, expensive bleach. All of our towels, like shampoo, everything,” a hairstylist who didn’t want to be identified said before she was let back in.
The owner, Charnae Wynn, admits she was late to pay rent, but maintains that it wasn’t because of a lack of funds. She feels she’s being treated unfairly by the property owners after multiple attempts to make good on her rent payments.
She sent an e-mail to her staff, that reads in part, “Our communications were met with no response and the actions that commenced were as much of a surprise to us as they are to you and your operations.”
Court records show a prior eviction complaint against Infinity Salon Suites in 2022 and that the owner was served with a writ of possession on October 9.
A dated check shows Wynn’s attempt to pay her past-due rent on Oct. 11.
“She knew she was getting evicted. I think that it’s just really shady,” one tenant said.
Wynn said she has refunded tenants for last week’s rent and is in the process of returning any security deposits they’ve paid.
News4JAX has reached out to attorneys and management of the property for comment on this story and has yet to hear back.