IT HAS been six years since Alicia Biot, on holiday from France, visited Rockhampton for just one weekend.

The trained hairdresser met her now-husband at a nightclub in town and the rest, as they say, is history.

Last week marked her first anniversary at her own salon, Chez Alicia, in the Glenmore Shopping Village, handy to the various family restaurants.

Ms Biot chose the location based on its free parking and lively foot traffic.

“A lot of people come her to pick up their dinner and they notice the salon for the first time,” she said.

“They ask for information and they make a booking to come back.”

Ms Biot built her clientele base from scratch, and is grateful she didn’t have to close her salon down due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“I was checking the websites five or six times a day at one point, to see if the government would close us down,” she said.

It’s a far cry from her home town of Avignon where businesses and schools are still largely closed.

She has cancelled plans to fly back and see her family in January next year.

“I had a couple of school formal bookings that had to cancel because of COVID-19, but with another school formal and the Caulfield Cup coming up this month, things are looking good.”

Ms Biot’s favourite style is a classic up-do, “tres chic” and very silky.

“But now the fashion, for weddings and formal events, is very loose and low, and I like that too.”

In her lilting French accent, Ms Biot bids adieu to a client who has made her pre-Christmas salon appointment.

“It’s hard to believe Christmas, one of our busiest times of the year, is just around the corner,” she said.

“Given what everyone’s had to deal with this year, I feel really lucky to be here one year in and still going strong.”