There is a small salon tucked beside the Rheem Theatre in Moraga that has quietly built a devoted following over the past decade. Glam Palace may be easy to walk past, but the clients who find it rarely look elsewhere.

The story behind it begins far from California. Rania Atout grew up in Jordan, where she studied art and graphic design in college. A visit from a California-based suitor changed the course of her life. She fell in love, married, and moved to the Bay Area to start fresh.

When her two children were young and family support was an ocean away, Rania needed work that could accommodate school pickups and unpredictable days. She chose to become a hairstylist, a decision that eventually led to a business of her own.

After roughly 12 years in a busy salon, Rania felt the pull toward independence. She searched for months for the right space without success and eventually set the idea aside. Then, one afternoon, her husband announced that he had found it. They drove from Clayton to Moraga, where he parked in front of a small storefront and pointed.

Her first reaction was skepticism. It was far, it was compact, and managing a household, school schedules, and a new business seemed like too much. He told her to trust him. She did.

“I trusted him, and I’m glad I did. This was the best idea ever,” Rania reflects. “Everything has gone smoothly since then.”

When COVID arrived, Glam Palace weathered it as many small businesses did, with difficulty and uncertainty. What helped carry Rania through was the Moraga community itself. She describes it as a place where people know one another, support local businesses, and treat each other with genuine respect.

After the pandemic, the salon found new momentum. Clients who had grown wary of crowded spaces were drawn to exactly what Glam Palace had always offered: a two-chair salon with focused, one-on-one attention and no sense of being rushed through a revolving door.

That intimacy is central to Rania’s work. She brings 20 years of experience to every appointment, along with a cutting and styling approach she has developed over time. She uses professional-grade products and gives each client her full attention from start to finish.

Her specialty in curly hair is both personal and professional. Because she has curly hair herself, she understands the texture firsthand. For new curly-haired clients, Rania goes well beyond the cut, offering guidance on washing, styling, product selection, and a home routine that is practical and easy to maintain. Her goal is for clients to leave not only with great hair, but also with the knowledge and confidence to care for it themselves.

Glam Palace offers a full range of hair services, including cuts, color, balayage, keratin treatments, and specialty curly cuts using the DevaCurl method. Rania chose the salon’s name with intention: She wants every person who walks through the door to feel like a queen.