The Baby Boomers are growing up, actually getting older, if we are allowed to use that world. "They're getting gray," said Teddie Kossof with a little twinkle. "And they need salon services. They need a well-styled cut. They may want a good colorist. And we have it for them."

Kossof is an entrepreneur, lord of all under the roof of his 15,000 square foot complex on Waukegan Road in Northfield. He operates a beauty salon, but that doesn't begin to describe the services within those walls.

The salon offers all the traditional things - cuts, styles, perms, hair treatment, and coloring. There is a separate manicure room, and a super little spa corner with a pedicure station.

"This is not a beauty parlor," said Kossof, with a confident sense of place.

In fact, the large establishment includes several additional businesses. On the ground level is Brenda Bendel, Ltd., a spa offering facials, massage and cosmetics. On one wall is a line of make-up products as colorful as an Impressionist's palette, and a fire dances in the gas log fireplace. "Rodeo Drive in Northfield," said Teddie as he strolled through.

If Bendel is Rodeo Drive, Kossof's entry way is pure Oak Street - the canopy, the lights, the front doors with incised glass. "Okay," he allowed, "Oak Street - but without the arrogance. We treat our clients right."

The salon was a boyhood dream of Kossof's. "I was told we couldn't do this on the North Shore," he said. "I was told suburban women go downtown to get their hair done. But I'm proving that's not so."

Despite his considerable success, he still has goals. "If we could get clients to come on Mondays and Tuesdays," he sighed, as if he where talking about winning the lottery. "We could give them more time. No one would be rushed."

Instead however, clients call on Fridays and Saturdays. "It's crazy on those days," Kossof said, laughing at the inevitable tangles in his profession. "We'll have 300 customers on the book and we'll get 50 more phone calls - can you take me right now?"

In fact, Teddie Kossof has staff in place to accommodate last minute calls. "We fit them in," he said. "But if we could get them into the habit of making their next appointment before they leave the salon. If we could give them a standing appointment - that would be so much better."

Standing appointments used to standard operating procedure for North Shore women. "The Baby Boomers are saying to themselves - how come my mother always looked so good? I'll tell you why - because she went to the beauty salon every week and took time to look her best," he said. "Sometimes I look at mothers and daughters and the mothers look better, because they take the time to have their hair done and the daughter's hair is every which way."

But times are changing, Kossof insists. "There are no short cuts to a great cut," he declared. "And those fright wig hairdos that younger women have been wearing are out of style. I spotted it nine months ago - the fresh clean geometric cut, a little softer now than in the initial Sassoon style, is coming back."

Or, he continued, the long hair done up very elegantly in a French twist "which looks like short hair," he said.

Kossof's salon is very much of the moment. A music video of a rock group is playing in most of the rooms. But he also has Streisand and Sinatra tapes for a change of pace.

"The sets can be turned down or off, if the client wants it," he added. "We want the over-50 crowd here. They are very sophisticated, they know what they want and we have a terrific line of services for them."

Price of a cut begins at $15 and tops off at $55 for a Teddie-cut, "We think of a client as a salon client," Kossof said. "She has a right to switch stylists within the salon. She doesn't have to leave us to get a different look."

More than a thousand customers come to the salon weekly, but Kossof wants more. "I'd like 2000," he said, targeting the male customer as an untapped market. "Men feel comfortable here. They account for a lot of our evening business."

For the customer's convenience the elegant salon has supermarket hours - 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

In addition to Brenda Bendel Ltd., his space includes a number of businesses, including Holly Schmidt electrolysis, Jenny of Northfield dressmaking, Margie's Designer Clothing and Accessories, and Classic Plants, a flower and party business run by Lauren Shapiro.