After serving in the Air Force, Carl Grondin, the family's oldest son, was the first to attend barber school on the GI Bill. He finished in 1964 and began cutting hair in Southfield, Michigan. Paul Grondin, after serving in the US Army, decided to follow suit and completed barber school in 1969, also on the GI Bill.
They opened a barbershop together in their hometown of Dryden, Michigan in the fall of 1969 and were there for a decade. Then Paul opened his first beauty salon in Imlay City, Michigan, a small town about 8 miles away. Then Carl opened a shop in Lapeer, Michigan, another small town about 15 miles away. Around the same time, their brother, Joe Grondin, opened Hairacy College of Cosmetology in Lapeer, Michigan too. In the mid-90s, Carl and Paul bought the school from their brother Joe and sister Shirley. Eventually, they moved the location of Hairacy to another location in Lapeer and changed the name to Grondin’s College of Cosmetology.After about six years in that location, Paul bought Carl's share of the school and moved it downtown to the old JCPenney building in Lapeer, Michigan. This is where they are still located today, thriving, teaching classes, and servicing men, women, and children. We hope Grondin’s College of Cosmetology has the privilege of servicing Lapeer County, Michigan for many years to come, and we hope many of our students will decide to come work for Grondin’s Hair Centers in the future to continue the passion and legacy that Paul and Carl started over 50 years ago in their mom’s kitchen.