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What do six uncles and four brothers have in common?

With six uncles and two brothers who are hairdressers, it was no surprise what Vince and Gino Meleca, co-owners of Salon Fortelli & Spa at 1803 Queen Street East, do for a living. In addition to being the owners, they are of course hairdressers at this local spa, whose fifteen employees have been serving customers in the Beaches for two-and-a-half years.

Vince Melecca notes that the brothers' first jobs included shampooing in the family salon. For twenty-five years now Vince and Gino have been in business together, including twenty years in Scarborough, before moving Salon Fortelli & Spa to the Beaches. Their two other brothers own a couple of salons themselves.

Today, this traditional family business is much more than a hair salon, among many unique services offered by the spa are the Vichy Treatment, a soothing massage that originated in France and consists of a treatment table and a five-head shower system that provides a warm water massage.

Many of the Meleca's clients at their salon in Scarborough were from the Beaches. "Before we just had a hair salon, but we thought the Beaches was a good neighbourhood to do a spa", says Vince Meleca, who was excited to be in the unique Beaches area. As for the name, Vince says that came naturally - "fratelli" is Italian for "brothers", so Fortelli evokes the idea of "four brothers."

By Arnold Ceballos

Arnold Ceballos is a freelance writer and lawyer whose practice focuses on intellectual property law and litigation. He can be reached at arnold@ceballoslaw.com.

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