Five West Madison Salon

For more than two years, my well-established DBA, Five West Madison, and I have been subjected to a documented pattern of false online appointments, unusual telephone inquiries, interference with my digital listings, demands involving my established domain, and repeated attempts to obtain information about my location. That conduct has now extended to my private cellphone a number that has never been affiliated with my business.

This pattern has had tangible consequences. Clients have been diverted or rerouted while attempting to reach me. My Google Business Profile which had never previously experienced this issue was repeatedly reported as “permanently closed” more than 22 times. I was forced to devote substantial time and money to restoring accurate information and protecting a digital presence I had built over decades.

The interference extended beyond Google. My Apple Maps listing was altered to identify an unrelated residential property that has never been affiliated with either me or Five West Madison. The telephone number associated with that listing was also changed and directed callers to a recorded line rather than to my business.

My review history was similarly affected. A review posted to my established business profile initially awarded Five West Madison one star while using the accompanying text to announce another business’s “grand opening.” The rating was later changed to five stars, but the text continued to reference that other business. Regardless of the rating, using my review profile to promote an unrelated enterprise created the misleading appearance of an affiliation where none existed. There was never any affiliation.

The former commercial location remained vacant for approximately four years after my departure. By then, I had long since moved on, established my private studio in La Porte, and continued operating independently. I did not seek these individuals out, involve myself in their business, or attempt to associate my identity with theirs. The contact and demands were directed toward me. This distinction matters: I did not pursue them. They pursued me.

The method of contact also changed. In more than 28 years of answering salon inquiries, I had never experienced prospective clients with no known referral connection attempting to initiate appointments exclusively through text messages. Personally referred clients have occasionally received my private number from an established client and contacted me that way. An unsolicited text from an unknown person who would not identify a referral source and who then shifted immediately into instructing me about my Google account was unprecedented.

These incidents have not been harmless inconveniences. Correcting the resulting listing, routing, branding, and client-access problems has cost me tens of thousands of dollars. Based on my established business history and the clients and appointments affected, I estimate the resulting lost revenue at more than $70,000 annually.

That is why I have addressed this matter publicly. Individual incidents may appear trivial when stripped of context. Viewed together, however, they establish a sustained pattern affecting my business identity, client access, reputation, privacy, and revenue.

I believe the people involved are aware of and continue to monitor the situation. With the pattern now clearly stated, I see no constructive reason to mention them again.

I want no contact, attention, involvement, or continued association with them personally or professionally. The record is clear. I consider the matter closed. Thank you 🙏

Tonight at 6:13 p.m., I received an unexplained service inquiry on my private cellphone requesting a weft-bead move-up—a service I have never advertised or provided.

When I asked how the sender obtained my private number, the sender stated that Google’s Five West Madison listing directed her there. The screenshot she supplied, however, visibly displayed Five West Madison’s legitimate public business number, (269) 612-2025—not the private number she contacted.

We independently inspected 5WMadison.com and the current Google result. The website contains no identified text-message link or route to my private cellphone, and the Google test did not reproduce the routing described by the sender. Google interfaces can vary by device and time, so I am not claiming the sender’s account was impossible. I am stating exactly what could and could not be verified.

Public numbering records associate the sender’s 586-339 prefix with the New Haven/Macomb County region of southeastern Michigan. That information does not identify the subscriber, and no reliable public source established who owns or controls the number.

Elise is among the limited individuals who previously obtained my private number. I am not asserting that she sent, arranged, or directed tonight’s message. At present, the sender’s identity and the source of the private number remain unverified.

The complete conversation, original video, timestamps, and independent test results have been preserved for legal review. Digital evidence is being documented carefully and will be handled through the appropriate professional channels.

For separate commercial clarity: I never sought to acquire my former commercial location. I previously had the opportunity to pursue that property and declined. Five West Madison® remains the independently owned business identity established by Ashley Castro in 2014 and was never transferred with the building.

Elise, Michael, and Kevin: if any of you has a legitimate interest in acquiring the Five West Madison domain, that interest may be submitted through an independent domain broker. Any proposed acquisition of the business name, trademark rights, website content, social-media assets, or other intellectual property must be handled separately through legal counsel and a fully executed written agreement.

This post documents an unresolved incident and provides a commercial notice. It does not accuse or identify anyone as the sender, and it does not allege that any named individual committed or directed unlawful conduct.

Five West Madison Luxury Blonde Balayage Studio in Laporte, Indiana specializing in dimensional brunette and seamless extensions. Serving Michigan City IN. and New Buffalo MI

In 2019, my entire family sat together in South Bend, searched “salons near me,” and Five West Madison appeared in the number-one position.

That was not accidental. It was the result of years of brand development, reputation management, client retention, marketing, and professional goodwill that I personally built over the course of more than two decades.

I am very aware that my search visibility has changed in recent years. I am equally aware of why.

For the record: I have preserved documentation concerning the use of my former commercial locations, interference with my business identity, unauthorized associations with the Five West Madison name, and activity occurring on digital properties historically connected to my business.

Most concerning is the appearance of another business’s “grand opening” announcement within a review profile containing reviews earned by my business.

That is not simply poor marketing etiquette.

Depending upon the facts, conduct of that nature can implicate serious issues involving false affiliation, consumer confusion, misappropriation of business goodwill, deceptive trade practices, unfair competition, and interference with established commercial relationships.

A building never constituted Five West Madison.

I did.

The goodwill, clientele, reputation, reviews, intellectual property, business identity, and commercial value associated with Five West Madison were developed over approximately 25 years. Occupying a former address does not transfer ownership of that history, and it certainly does not create authorization to represent another business’s reputation as one’s own.

I remained publicly silent while preserving records.

That silence should never have been mistaken for ignorance, acquiescence, or an absence of documentation.

Relevant communications, digital activity, business records, client diversion, historical revenue information, and resulting financial losses have been preserved for counsel and appropriate review.

At this point, the matter is no longer about social media, personalities, or competing salons.

It is about evidence, attribution, damages, and accountability.

My attorneys can address the remainder through the appropriate channels.

Five West Madison was never a storefront.

Five West Madison is the business I built.

Old Money Blonde.

Luxury isn’t loud. Beautiful hair never needed a rebrand.

Soft dimension. Seamless grow-out. Timeless color that looks effortlessly expensive.

Ashley Castro REGISTERED/TRADEMARKED DBA FIVE WEST MADISON

NEW CLIENT INQUIRIES
PLEASE CALL SALON:

219.388.7825
269.612.2025
269.612.2024

EXISTING CLIENTS: ONLINE BOOKING AT
5WMADISON.COM

Five West Madison is an independently owned beauty brand and is NOT affiliated with any other salon or brand.

Looking for a fresh new look? Five West Madison offers professional salon services with a personal touch. Book your appointment today!

Michigan: (269) 612-2025Michigan: (269) 612-2025
Indiana: (219) 388-7825Indiana: (219) 388-7825
Visit us at 5wmadison.com

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Now you can pay in installments with Afterpay Click here for an update from FIVE WEST MADISON SALON&SPA!

Dave and I snapped this photo the Friday before we left for Vegas. I told him, “Don’t worry, Dave, I’ll remember to send it to you.” 😅

Well… after Vegas, another Vegas trip, and approximately 47 other things, here we are.

A huge thank you to and Tamra for nearly a decade of loyalty. Over the years they’ve lived in multiple states, moved away, moved back, and somehow still kept me as their hairstylist. That kind of support is something I never take for granted.

Since starting over and building my business again, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by clients who have become so much more than appointments on a calendar. Dave and Tamra are definitely part of that group.

Thank you both for your loyalty, your friendship, and for continuing to trust me with your hair all these years later. It means more than you know. ❤️

And Dave… I finally remembered to send the photo.

Vegas, Take Two. ✈️🎰

Whoa.

We spent a full week in Las Vegas, came home, unpacked, blinked, and 48 hours later turned right around and did it all over again for one last birthday weekend before Freddie turns 50 tomorrow, June 9.

Happy Birthday, Freddie Castro. ❤️

And honestly? Fifty years old? Looking 30 at most? I still don’t believe it. Somehow my husband keeps getting older on paper while looking exactly the same in every photo.

What started as one vacation somehow turned into two, and I couldn’t be more grateful for every minute of it.

Also, serious question:

Does this count as a matching luggage set? 😂

Because technically it’s all Louis Vuitton.

I’m just not sure if “Neverfull, Keepall, and whatever else we threw in the airport” is an officially recognized luggage collection.

For years, we’ve always been the people who valued our home, our projects, and the things we built more than travel. We never really subscribed to the idea that luxury travel was the ultimate luxury.

But I have a confession.

We’re already booked for two more trips.

At this point, Vegas might be becoming a second home. And if we’re being completely honest, it looks like one particular couple may be shopping for real estate in Nevada sooner rather than later.

Happy 50th Birthday, Freddie. Thank you for not only one vacation, but somehow turning it into two. ❤️🥂

Now let’s get home before one of us accidentally buys another Louis Vuitton bag and calls it “luggage.”