We have several in the UK in the larger cities and yes they are pretty popular with alternative people and students etc. I’m not sure that the venue bothers me much but the stylist knowing what you want without taming things down can be quite frustrating, not so much now but when younger.
I think you have a thin line between being welcoming and being intimidating though, alot of younger or not so confident people could find a salon with a bunch of freaks hanging out more intimidating than sitting with a bunch of suits starring at them. You’d have to get your attitude right and the staff would have to be spot on with clients to make it work, you will already have surrounding shops and businesses wanting you to fail before you start, as they do when anything out of the ordinary moves into town.

I’d try to stay away from the ‘Fuck the system’ brigade and try to incorporate lots of love with a dirty attitude, if that makes any sense.

Good luck !
SCRUB

There are some of these all over the place. If you go to the big cities like Dallas or Denver, you’ll see them. It just sort of depends on where you are. Make sure that when you are picking the locations, they are near areas where more new age people like to hang out or mingle. A good idea is to make one of these near a tattoo parlor. Generally that’s the area you want to put your salons in. Gooood luck my friend!