Former San Francisco salon owner says ‘leftist’ COVID policies took her business away ‘overnight’
Former salon owner Erica Kious and 2020 Texas Realtors Chairman Russell Berry discuss how red and blue states are dealing with the omicron surge.
Erica Kious was the owner the San Francisco salon that went viral after Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited in September of 2020 when local ordinances and COVID restrictions required salons to remain closed. Kious has since left the liberal state, saying the leftist policies took away her American dream.
Kious moved to the Nashville area after the backlash she received for opening her doors to the House speaker.
At the time, Kious told Fox News that she was conflicted about whether to open her doors to Pelosi.
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"It was a slap in the face that she went in, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work," Kious said days after the video went viral.
"We’re supposed to look up to this woman, right?" she said. "It is just disturbing."
A text message from a hair stylist to Erica Kious, salon owner, that he would open the salon to provide House Speaker Nancy Pelosi services. (Fox News)
On "Fox & Friends First" Wednesday, she estimated that about 80%of her new clientele in Tennessee are people who are "running from" California and Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying the state is offering very little incentives to keep residents from leaving.
"We will take two steps forward, and then, seriously, we’ll take four steps back."
Kious said she has no faith in the blue state after its strict COVID-19 policies led to the loss of her salon.
"My mom is an immigrant from another country, and I’m a first-generation American who literally worked my way through restaurants to build my salon – my American dream," she told Fox News’ Todd Piro.
"And it’s gone. It was taken away from me overnight."
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Kious said she's not the only business owner who had to leave the state.
"A lot of people have lost their livelihood in California and are going to Tennessee to rebuild their businesses," she said. "And more than likely, I would say 99% will vote Republican."
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Kious said that her only hope for California is a change in leadership, ousting politicians who are implementing and enforcing the policies driving residents and businesses to other red states like Florida and Texas.
"I don’t have any faith in California unless, seriously, we get rid of some extreme leftist politicians."
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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