Downtown Barber Shop

My Story: Downtown Barbershop Delivered

I have been a barber for 20 years. During that time, I have built a large clientele at two different barbershops in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and I feel like I have truly mastered my craft. I have learned how to work with all kinds of hair, solve difficult haircut problems, and figure out what each person’s hair needs. When I take my time, concentrate, and study someone’s hair, I believe I can do almost any haircut and make it look its best.

Downtown Barbershop has been part of Harrisonburg since 1964, making it the oldest barbershop in the city. Jess Nelson was the first owner, but he owned the shop for only a short time. Around 1967, Walter Steel took over the shop. Rick Varner later became the owner in the 1990s, and I eventually purchased the business from Rick.

My journey at Downtown Barbershop began long before I owned it. When I first applied, the shop had already hired another barber. Thankfully, they decided to keep me too. At first, I was only given Fridays and Saturdays. I could also fill in whenever another barber needed time off. If someone was going to be away, I could put my name on the calendar and work at that person’s station.

I started out sharing a station with whoever happened to be off that day. I worked every opportunity I could get. If someone needed help, I was there. If an extra day became available, I took it. I worked my tail off, slowly built my clientele, and eventually earned a station of my own.

I stayed at Downtown Barbershop for approximately 10 years before buying it. During that time, people came and went, but I stayed. I outlasted everyone I had originally started with and put a tremendous amount of work into keeping the shop going.

The COVID shutdown in 2020 became one of the most difficult periods of my barbering career. We were given only 24 hours’ notice before we had to stop working. I remember yelling when I heard the announcement because I did not know what I was going to do.

I had always worked in walk-in barbershops. I planned to remain loyal to the shops where I worked, so I gave customers the barbershop’s telephone number instead of my personal number. When the shutdown happened, I suddenly had no easy way to contact most of the clientele I had spent years building.

I began searching for customers on Facebook. A small group of longtime customers—probably only about five—either contacted me or stayed in touch with me so that I could cut their hair during the six months we were out of work. Thankfully, I was older by then and had managed to save some money. Our unemployment did not arrive until the same day we were finally allowed to return to work.

When we reopened, barbering looked completely different. We had to wear masks, customers could no longer wait inside, magazines had to be removed, and we had to operate by appointment only. That was a major adjustment for someone who had always worked in a walk-in barbershop.

Two barbers did not return after COVID, and another barber developed cancer. Eventually, the shop came down to only me and one other barber. If one person was sick or went on vacation, the other could be left running the entire shop alone. Once, while one barber was on vacation and the other had COVID, I worked the shop by myself for two weeks. It was quite an experience, but I did what had to be done.

For several years before retiring, Rick would ask me, “When I retire, are you going to buy the barbershop?” I always told him yes.

Then, three and a half years ago, Rick finally called me and said he was ready to let the shop go. He wanted everything handled quickly. I had to obtain loans, arrange a brand-new lease, get an EIN, establish a business checking account, transfer the utilities, and complete everything else required to take ownership of a business.

Downtown Barbershop had been operating since the 1960s, but many of its business arrangements had not been updated since the 1990s. The shop had never had its own EIN, checking account, or formal lease. I had to figure all of that out myself—and I did it in two weeks.

Bam, bam, bam, bam. I got it done.

Becoming the owner was not something that was simply handed to me. I had worked my way from filling in at other people’s stations to having my own station. I had helped carry the shop through COVID, staff shortages, illnesses, vacations, and uncertain times. After years of hard work and loyalty, I became the owner of the oldest barbershop in Harrisonburg.

This year, I remodeled and updated Downtown Barbershop. I wanted to give it a cleaner, more modern appearance while preserving the character and traditional feeling of an old-fashioned barbershop. I have also spent time and money promoting the business and helping it grow.

Even after buying and improving the shop, however, I continued to feel like I was supposed to be doing more. I love barbering, but I started becoming bored with standing behind the same chair every day. I knew I wanted something more, but I could not figure out what that “more” was supposed to be.

Then, a few months ago, a customer walked into the shop whom I had not seen in nine or ten years. When I lived beside him, I had gone to his garage before his wedding and cut his hair and his groomsmen’s hair. It was nothing fancy or professionally arranged. It was simply a group of men getting ready for a wedding and having a good time. We even put a barber cape around the dog and took some fun pictures.

I had completely forgotten about that day until he reminded me. As soon as he told me the story, I thought, “Holy smokes—why haven’t I been doing this?”

That memory helped me recognize something important: bringing barbering directly to people was not a brand-new idea for me. I had already been doing it for years.

Helping people has always been another passion of mine. I have provided free haircuts to people experiencing homelessness and volunteered with OCP and Open Doors. I have cut hair in hospitals, including cutting and styling an elderly woman’s hair during her hospital stay. I have gone to nursing homes, and I already travel to the homes of elderly and homebound people who cannot easily get to a barbershop.

Those visits have always meant a lot to me. I love being out in the community, talking with people, and seeing the happiness that a simple haircut can bring. Sometimes someone has been sick or unable to leave home and has gone months without a haircut. Seeing that person—and their family—light up afterward reminds me that barbering is about much more than hair.

People sometimes feel bad about asking me to come to their homes because they worry they are inconveniencing me. What they may not realize is that I genuinely enjoy doing it. Being able to make someone feel cared for, confident, and more like themselves is one of the most rewarding parts of my work.

Recently, I joined a business cohort in downtown Harrisonburg. The class got my mind thinking in new ways. After spending an entire week working on my homework and feeling stuck, something finally clicked: I realized I had already been building the foundation for this kind of business without even knowing it.

I did not need to abandon the name and reputation I had worked so hard to build. I could expand it. That is when the idea for Downtown Barbershop Delivered began to take shape.

Downtown Barbershop Delivered will bring professional barbering to elderly and homebound clients, nursing homes, hospitals, and others who have difficulty getting to the shop. As the business grows, I can add on-location wedding grooming packages. I already have my first wedding scheduled for April 30, which will give me an opportunity to learn, practice, and continue developing that side of the business.

The past year and a half of my life has included some very difficult experiences. I have gone through rough spots, but I made it through them. Focusing on this business is helping me move forward and giving my mind somewhere positive to go. Something good is going to come from the difficult things I have experienced, and I believe this new business is part of that good.

Downtown Barbershop Delivered is not only about taking haircuts outside the walls of the shop. It brings together the two things I care deeply about: barbering and helping people.

It allows me to use the craft I have spent 20 years mastering while meeting people where they are. Whether I am helping a homebound senior feel like themselves again, caring for someone in a hospital or nursing home, or helping a groom and his closest friends prepare for one of the biggest days of their lives, the purpose is the same: to make people feel cared for, confident, and important.

For a long time, I kept wondering what I was supposed to do next. Looking back, I can see that the answer had been appearing throughout my entire career. I just had not put all the pieces together yet.

Now I have.

I will still be barbering same hours and I will be back with official launch date. Thank you to all my customers for supporting my small business

We’re excited to be participating in the JMU Block Party in the ’Burg this year! 💜💛

Come hang out with us downtown on Saturday, August 29th from 2–4 PM! We can’t wait to welcome JMU students back to Harrisonburg and be part of all the fun! ✂️🎉

🎡 Stop by Downtown Barbershop and spin our PRIZE WHEEL for a chance to win a prize! 👀🎁

Come say hey, have some fun, and see what you win!

Go Dukes! 💜💛

Today is the end of our hula hoop challenge. And we have to say, it was definitely one for the books! Ya’ll made this so much fun. And wow, was it a challenge! Our first time was 1 minute then 1.05 minutes, then 1.35 minutes! And that record kept up for 13 days! And was almost doubled at 3.09 minutes, wow! And our last winner was a mom who hula’d for 3.25 minutes.
We’re so happy we had so many people try it. Stay tuned for the next one.
Until then, check out some of the pictures of our customers that enjoyed the fun!
If you have pictures from our competition, drop them in the post.

Teacher’s, we haven’t forgot about you! Come in today, mention this post and you’ll get a discount!

Last day! Bring the kids, come hula hoop and have some fun with your haircut visit!
Walk-ins welcome.

The girls were fine with no TV as long as Uncle Rudy walks out with a red mohawk!
What better way to spend back to school week?

Take one thing off your list today! Come in and get your haircut and bring the kiddos for their back to school haircut!

Last Saturday before school starts! Don’t forget to get everyone cleaned up.