Some things just feel right.
That is the only honest way to describe the moment Marisa and I first walked through the door at 228 N Park Avenue. It was not a transaction. It was a recognition — the quiet, certain kind that does not require explanation. The light coming through the windows, the scent of botanicals settling in the air, the unhurried way the team moved through their work. We knew, the way you sometimes simply know, that this place mattered.
We are Mark and Marisa Evans, and we are honored — genuinely, carefully honored — to introduce ourselves as the new owners of Mint on the Avenue.
Who We Are
We are not a corporate group. We are not an investment portfolio with a salon attached. We are owner-operators, here in person, present in the daily operations of the salon as well as guest care. Mark serves as general manager, which means he is as likely to be handling payroll, or answering the phone as he is to be in a conversation with a stylist about a guest’s color history or booking a service. Marisa is not just an owner, she is a passionate hair stylist with a mission to create a welcoming, calming and positive experience for every guest that enters the salon. We want all of our guests to feel the community that Winter Park cultivates within the walls of our small business. We care about people over profits and experience over quick turn-around. We want every person to walk through our doors to feel like family.
We live in this community. We walk Park Avenue. We know the rhythm of the Saturday farmers market, the particular quiet of Central Park on a weekday morning when the koi ponds catch the early light, the way Hannibal Square feels in the evening. Winter Park is not a backdrop for us. It is home — and Mint, we believe, belongs to it in a meaningful way.
What We Inherited
There is a particular responsibility that comes with new ownership of something people already love. We did not arrive to reinvent. We arrived to understand — and then to steward.
What we found when we looked closely at Mint on the Avenue was a salon with genuine soul. A team of skilled, caring professionals who take their craft seriously. A guest list built over years on trust, consistency, and the kind of quiet excellence that does not need to announce itself. A reputation, earned slowly and honestly, as a place where people feel seen.
That is not nothing. That is, in fact, everything.
The previous chapter of Mint was written with care, and we have read it closely. The warmth that guests describe when they talk about this place — the sense of being welcomed rather than processed, celebrated rather than managed — that is not incidental to what Mint is. It is the entire point. Our role as new management is to protect that quality while creating the conditions for it to deepen.
What We Believe About a Salon
We believe a salon is a particular kind of place. It is not simply a service provider. At its best, it is a space where people come to feel more like themselves — where the conversation at the chair is as important as the work being done, where the hour spent is a genuine respite from whatever is waiting outside on Park Avenue.
We believe the relationship between a guest and their stylist is one of the more quietly significant ones in a person’s life. It is built on attention, on memory, on the willingness to say I see you, and I know what you need. That kind of relationship takes time to build and deserves to be treated with respect by everyone in the building — including ownership.
We believe in Aveda. Not as a marketing position, but as a genuine alignment of values. The commitment to plant-based formulations, to responsible sourcing, to the idea that what touches your hair and skin should not compromise the world around you — these are principles we hold, not just products we carry. Whether a guest is here for a Botanical Repair treatment, a Scalp Solutions consultation, a Nutriplenish conditioning service, or the first appointment in what we hope will be a long relationship built around Invati Ultra Advanced — the Aveda philosophy runs underneath all of it.
The Team
We want to say something plainly: the people who work at Mint on the Avenue are exceptional. They are skilled in ways that are visible — in the precision of a cut, the dimension of a color, the smoothness of a Brazilian Blowout, the integrity of a VoMor extension application — and in ways that are less visible but equally important. They listen. They remember. They care about the outcome in a way that goes beyond the technical.
As new owners, one of our first and most important commitments was to them. A salon is only as good as the people in it, and we intend to create an environment where talented professionals want to build their careers, where continuing education is supported, where the culture is one of mutual respect. When the team feels valued, guests feel it — in every interaction, at every chair.
The Neighborhood
Mint on the Avenue sits in one of the most considered stretches of retail and culture in Central Florida. The guests who find their way to us often arrive from across the 32789 ZIP and beyond — from Maitland, from College Park, from Baldwin Park, from Audubon Park, from Lake Mary. Some walk from Rollins College or from apartments a few blocks off Park Avenue. Some drive past the Morse Museum of American Art or stop at Briar Patch Books on the same errand. Some make an afternoon of it — a visit to Mint, then lunch at Prato or Tabla, then a slow walk back through Central Park.
We think about that. We think about what it means to be part of an afternoon like that, to be one of the places that makes Winter Park feel like Winter Park. That is not a small thing, and we do not take it lightly.
What Comes Next
We are in the early days of this chapter, and we are approaching them with more curiosity than declaration. There are things we want to refine. There are conversations we want to have — with guests, with the team, with the neighborhood. There are services we want to deepen and experiences we want to make more consistent.
But we are not arriving with a list of disruptions. We are arriving with attention and intention — and with a profound respect for what has already been built here.
If you are a longtime guest of Mint, we want you to know: your relationship with this salon, with your stylist, with this chair — that continuity matters to us. We are here to earn your continued trust, not to assume it.
If you are new to Mint, or curious about it, or have been meaning to make an appointment for longer than you care to admit — we want you to know: the door is open. There is no pretense here, no performance of exclusivity. This is a working salon on a beautiful street in a town we love, staffed by people who are genuinely good at what they do. Come as you are.
A Note on Gratitude
Marisa and I are aware, in a way that does not fade with familiarity, of how fortunate we are to do this. To own a business that exists to make people feel good about themselves — to be, in some small way, part of someone’s best day, or their recovery from a hard week, or the version of themselves they are working toward — that is a privilege.
We do not use that word lightly. Privilege implies responsibility, and we feel the weight of it in the best possible way. Every guest who chooses to spend their time and their trust at Mint on the Avenue is giving us something that cannot be manufactured or marketed. We intend to be worthy of it.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for the welcome this community has extended to us. We are just getting started, and we are glad to be doing it on Park Avenue.
Marisa and Mark Evans
Owners, Mint on the Avenue
228 N Park Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789
Come See Us
We would love to meet you. Call us at 407.645.2264, text us at 830.390.0226, or simply walk in from Park Avenue — we are here, and we are glad you are too.