Escape to Panache’s History
Panache was started in 1988 by three hairstylists- Bonnie Goffena, Sharon Money and Julie Rice. These ladies started the small salon in the basement of a flower shop in downtown Sidney. The salon was at this location for 7 years. After purchasing the Stump home at 1001 Wapakoneta Ave in 1999, Panache became a salon and Day Spa. With Bonnie and Mike Goffena as the owners, the brand became Escape To Panache Salon and Day Spa. In 2023, I purchased the salon from Bonnie.
I began my career with Panache and will now be at Panache until the end. In 2002, I began my internship at Panache under Bonnie Goffena, founder and previous owner of Escape To Panache. The amount of knowledge about hair that I gained under Bonnie’s tutelage was invaluable. I finished my internship and nearly decided I did not want to be in the cosmetology industry, so I left Panache and school. Soon after, I decided to finish school and give it a shot. I started at a salon in Sidney where I became the manager after a year. I managed that salon for 13 years and decided I wanted to be my own boss, so I called around to find a booth to rent. There wasn’t a salon in Sidney (with an available chair) that booth rented. So, the only logical answer was to open my own. I found a small studio space, added 3 chairs (and a lot of esthetic work) and Bleach Hair Studio was open for business. I added two booth renters who are still with me today at Panache.
I owned Bleach Hair Studio for just over 6 years when a conversation with a friend that worked at Panache led to a meeting with Bonnie about the possible purchase of her business. (Fun fact- I suggested to this friend that she should try applying at Panache several years prior when her current salon wasn’t a fit for her. So had she not been there, this may not have happened.) My husband and I had been looking for the perfect building to buy for Bleach Hair Studio for 3 years, to no avail. We just knew that we didn’t want to pay rent forever, we wanted property that was ours. We looked at some buildings 2-3 times. There were places that I thought were perfect and my husband did not and vice versa. It seemed as if there would never be a property we could agree on, and now I know why. When I told my husband about the interaction with my friend and Bonnie’s response, he said yes. He didn’t even pause- and neither did I. We started talking to Bonnie in April of 2023 and signed papers on July 1 of 2023. We decided to keep the name Escape To Panache because that was the brand that Sidney had come to trust and love. The transition was smooth and I honestly couldn’t have dreamt of a better outcome.
Throughout my career, I often thought of different things that Bonnie had taught me in my short internship, I looked up to her for so many reasons. She was kind, she was jubilant, she was one heck of a hair stylist and taught me things I still use today. She had expectations for me that taught me the importance of how much a smile can impact someone. (I used to be very shy so sometimes my timidness was more obvious than I thought). I never forgot those little things and they truly helped shape me into who I am as a stylist today. In my mind, Panache was the pinnacle of salon and day spa success, The crème de la crème. My goal is to live up to the prestige that comes with the name Panache.
When I think back to all the things that didn’t work out that made the journey here a little bit more difficult, I understand it now. There was a plan for this crazy adventure that had to be given the chance to unfold organically. Most people that know me know that I have a strong faith in trusting God’s path for my life, this is a good example. Although there were times that not finding the perfect place was so frustrating, I would make myself step back and understand that God had something bigger planned. I could not have imagined a better outcome than this.