Commissioners on Monday inked approval of a special use permit allowing No Shame Tattoo open a parlor in the upstairs of the property at 106 W. Horton St., owned by Knight Rentals, LLC.

The 4-1 vote by commissioners came after the Zebulon Planning Board unanimously voted in favor of the permit in January. Commissioner Don Bumgarner was the only member of either town board to vote in opposition to the request.

For No Shame Tattoo owner and Zebulon resident Chris Baker, the approval was a big one.

Baker had operated a parlor under the same name in Raleigh for almost two years until 19 months ago, when he closed down the location to relocate to Zebulon. He saw the town as a good place to raise his four children and open a new No Shame store.

But he has been out of business since he relocated because tattoo parlors did not exist on Zebulon’s permitted use table when he moved to town. It has taken until now for the town to work the use into its code and for Baker’s request to play out.

“By doing this, they let me be able to operate my business and be able to sport my family,” Baker said. “It goes to show times have changed. It’s not the old stigma of a tattoo shop.”

Baker aims to open No Shame’s doors on March 1. He is working up a building permit to submit to the planning department and once the plan is approved he will begin preparing the space for the arrival of his equipment.

There will be two tattoo artists and one piercer on staff at No Shame Tattoo. The business will be open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.