After decades of preparing the next generation of professionals in the beauty industry, Modern Beauty Academy in Oxnard closed Aug. 28 with no advance notice.
Last month, students and staff showed up to the 699 S. C St. campus to begin their day only to find the front doors locked and a sign informing them that the school was permanently closed.
The abrupt ending came the same day the company filed for bankruptcy after allegedly failing to pay staff for several months.
“It’s been here for years, and it’s a pillar of the community, so for them to close it like that was just dead wrong,” manager Kalven Harrison said. “It’s a horrible loss, and it has affected and hurt a lot of different people.”
The institution had about 70 students and 15 employees
across its cosmetology, barbering and nail programs, according to sources.
Denise Hooper, owner of Modern Beauty Academy, declined interview requests and did not respond to emailed questions, instead providing a written statement.
“We regret any inconvenience and hardship this may have caused our students, employees, instructors and their families but believe this course of action was necessary based on the company’s current financial condition,” she wrote.
Students, staff recall red flags
All five employees interviewed said they first noticed signs that the company was in financial trouble when they stopped getting paid in April.
Under the previous owner, Linda Davis, everything ran smoothly; they said they were always paid on time, and she showed up to support them nearly every day, even when she was sick.
Staff said they later learned that Davis died May 12 and her daughter, Hooper, had inherited the company, though she was rarely on site.
They said when they asked her about the missed payments, she told them they would be paid soon.
On Aug. 3, Hooper showed up to the school, gathered all students and staff and told them they had to leave immediately because the school was closing, sources said. They said she told them that if Harrison, the manager, purchased the school from her on Aug. 17 as planned, the school would reopen then.
“They told us to see it as a two-week vacation,” cosmetology student Thalia Messina said.
Despite criticizing and arguing with Hooper, the students left early that day, with some taking their belongings with them.
Harrison and Director of Education Angelica Garcia said they later told the owner that she couldn’t close the school without notice and were able to convince her to keep it open until the final students graduated in August 2027.
Students and staff returned to school over the next few days, and Garcia said the school continued accepting students, with the newest student starting class Aug. 17.
That same day, Harrison said he was supposed to sign papers to purchase Modern Beauty Academy from Hooper after multiple delays. He sent her proof of funds but never heard back from her.
He said he began leasing the property with the option to purchase from her mother in December 2023 when he started as manager, and Davis had always planned for him to take over the business and continue her legacy. He said he had already invested $150,000 in upgrades.
‘Padlock it and run’
On Aug. 28, janitor Wanda Cortez was the first to arrive at the building, around 6:45 a.m. She said she discovered a bike lock on the front door along with a sign stating the school was permanently closed.
“She should have talked to us and let us know ahead of time what she was planning to do so we could be ready to move on,” she said. “What she did was very dirty. That’s the lowest you can go — padlock it and run.”
She called Hooper but she didn’t answer, so she called Harrison and Garcia and they came to the site but didn’t have any information either.
When students started showing at 8:30 a.m. they realized that beginning at 5 a.m. that morning, most of them received emails informing them that the school was permanently closed effective 6 a.m. Harrison and barbering student Roman LaPier said they never received the email.
Students were told not to report for class, while staff were told their employment was terminated, according to emails obtained by The Star.
“(Hooper) played her game really good because we had no idea she was going to throw us under the bus like that,” cosmetology instructor Brenda Enriquez said.
The emails also stated that the school expected to be the subject of a bankruptcy filing.
Modern Beauty Academy filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or full liquidation, Aug. 28 — the same day as the permanent closure. The company’s attorney did not respond to an interview request.
According to court records, the company declared that it has no money in cash or checking accounts, owned no real estate property and had no gross revenue. It estimated it owned roughly $17,000 worth of beauty supplies, equipment and furniture.
The documents list roughly 100 creditors, including students and staff, and state that the company owes just over $11,500 in unsecured claims.
The court appointed a third-party bankruptcy trustee, and a meeting with creditors is scheduled for Oct. 1.
When a group of students and staff showed up to the school Sept. 4 demanding to collect their belongings, it was the trustee who let them inside in groups of three after Hooper called the police to escort her outside to her car, sources said.
Some still do not have their belongings back. Cortez said the trustee would not let her inside to collect her janitorial supplies, instead telling her she could come back for them Sept. 8. She said when she drove by that day, no one was there, and she hasn’t heard anything since.
‘Scrambling and upset and unsure’
The school was legally required to notify the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education and the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences at least 30 days before closing and the California State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology at least seven days before closing, but all three agencies told The Star that Modern Beauty Academy did not provide notice prior to closing.
An NACCAS spokesperson said the agency is now investigating Modern Beauty Academy, which is still accredited.
Students said they have not been contacted by Hooper since the closure, and their calls and emails to her have gone unanswered. The company’s website is also down.
With five months left in his program, LaPier already had interview and job offers at several barber shops in the region once he graduated.
Messina, who was just three weeks away from completing her program when the school closed, hoped to work as an assistant hair stylist before one day owning her own salon.
Now, the two students said they are worried about transferring to other schools, as Hooper didn’t provide them with their transcripts prior to the closure.
LaPier finally received his transcripts from a third-party service, but Messina has not.
“It’s pretty stressful because we don’t know if we’re getting our records,” Messina said. “(Hooper) could have went at it a different way and given us notice.”
For them, finances are also a major concern.
Their tuition is $20,000 each and fully covered by grants, including from the Department of Rehabilitation, America’s Job Center of California and Ventura County Works.
They do not know whether other schools in the area accept the grants or whether the grants will still be available if they transfer since most had already been paid to Modern Beauty Academy.
“I wasn’t expecting this whole experience to suddenly be over,” LaPier said. “I abruptly have to come up with Plan B when I didn’t necessarily have one. So now I’m scrambling and upset and unsure about what my future holds.”
Cynthia Butler, a spokesperson for the Department of Rehabilitation, said the agency is focused on finding alternative programs for the students to complete their training.
America's Job Center of California did not have any informatoin about the impact of the closure on students, and Ventura County Works did not respond to questions.
The five employees said they have also been unable to contact Hooper and still have not been paid since April. Harrison said he is owed around $50,000 in wages.
Cortez worked for the company for 16 years and she looked forward to waking up early each morning and ensuring the building was clean before students arrived. Now, she is left to start over again at 66 years old.
She filed for unemployment but is having difficulty proving her employment because the website to view paystubs is no longer available, she said. She’s spent her time searching for jobs at career fairs and searching for resources at charities and government agencies.
“I never knew that a job could end overnight,” Cortez said. “You see it happen to other people, but you never thought it would happen to you. It leaves you wondering, ‘Oh my god, how am I going to pay my rent and food.’”
Brenda Enriquez has two young children to provide for, and her mother Mireya Avalos, who worked as a cosmetology instructor at Modern Beauty Academy for a decade, also has one young child to provide for.
They said after months of not getting paid, they were behind on credit card bills, rent, insurance and utilities even before the closure. Their unemployment money isn’t enough to survive on as they look for new jobs.
“We’re just trying to figure out what is going to happen because that was our only source of income, our only job,” Enriquez said. “We’re still trying to get through it.”
In addition to grieving her own job, she and her colleagues at Modern Beauty Academy are also grieving the legacy of Davis, the previous owner.
“It’s not fair that (Hooper) decided to close the school just like that when her parents put so much effort into it,” Enriquez said. “Even when her mom was sick, she spent so much time running it and she wanted the school to keep going.”
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism. The foundation plays no role in story selection. The Star retains full editorial control.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Students, staff blindsided by Oxnard beauty school closure
