Scottfree Salons recently announced plans to open a third location in downtown Milwaukee’s luxury apartment tower The Couture. The new location will be the company's third in addition to its existing downtown Milwaukee and Mequon locations.
“It's been a very long time coming,” said Scott Yance, founder and owner of Scottfree Salons.
After years of conversations with The Couture's developers Rick Barrett and Tan Lo of Barrett Lo Visionary Development, the project finally came to fruition.
“Rick (Barrett) and Tan (Lo) are both clients, and have been for a long time," Yance said. "We kind of turned into friends. I was fortunate enough to watch The Couture come from its conception, and (the salon) was always something that we had talked about. It got to the point where we thought, 'Hey, let's do this.'”
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Scott Yance[/caption]
Scottfree will occupy a 1,984-square-foot space on the second floor of The Couture. The location is slated to open in the fall of 2026, BizTimes reported on Monday.
The space will double as an additional salon and an academy for incoming stylists. Scottfree hires stylists directly out of cosmetology school and enrolls them as apprentices to learn the company's techniques and sharpen their skills, Yance said.
Scottfree employs roughly 30 people between its two existing locations. Given the space at The Couture is smaller than both of its other salons, there will be fewer people hired to operate the new space. Some Scottfree employees will move to The Couture from another location and several others will be hired.
Yance expects the buildout of the space to be completed within six months.
The addition of Scottfree Salon adds to The Couture’s growing list of amenities including an outdoor sundeck and pool, a fitness center, a secured dog walk, green space, attached parking, nearby access to public transit, a recently announced restaurant called The Vig on the second floor, and an incoming upscale “white tablecloth” restaurant on the ground floor.
“There's so many amenities, you would never have to leave,” Yance said.
The Couture boasts 322 apartments and 45,000 square feet of commercial space among its 46 floors located at 909 E. Michigan St. in downtown Milwaukee near the lakefront. It is the tallest residential building in Wisconsin. Construction of the building was completed in 2024, 12 years after its plans were first unveiled to the public in 2012.
Roughly half of The Couture’s 322 apartments have been leased thus far.
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Inside Scottfree Salon at 726 N. Milwaukee St. Submitted photo.[/caption]
