Sadly, Christis is closing on Saturday, its final goodbye to generations of customers.

The owners did not want to talk about it, preferring to quietly close the doors.

But it is the end of an era, the salon run by a family, first of Greek and then Korean migrants. We hear they preferred to move on rather than take a spot in a new development slated for Garema Place.

The whole precinct will soon be changed as well, as Geocon plans to demolish the building in which the hair salon and Gus's trade from.

Geocon says it will rebuild the cafe - in the same spot - as part of its proposed $130 million Garema Place hotel. It also says it did offer a spot to Christis in the redevelopment, but they declined it.

The 11-storey hotel has been approved and the developer says it will work to retain with the ACT government to maintain the heritage of the site.

At least one sliver of heritage from the site will be preserved - the Christis Ladies and Gents street sign with the little pair of scissors in the corner is destined for the collection of the Canberra Museum and Gallery.

CMAG confirmed it wanted to acquire the sign, which will be one of many to feature in a new exhibition late this year. The museum said the exhibition would be in November and feature iconic signs from Canberra stalwarts such as the Starlight drive-in and Impact Records and national brands such as Fletcher Jones.

In the meantime, punters are already mourning Christis.

"I've been going on and off for 25 years," one loyal customer told us.

"I used to go when the Greek guys were there and it was very old-school, Brylcreem, short-back-and-sides and then there were the Korean girls and a whole bunch of their friends. I always found it to be really fun and warm. They're just really lovely and, oh my God, quick," he said, with a laugh.

"There's a reason you go to a barber's rather than a hairdressers and they had that great, no-nonsense, in-and-out service."