Sunday, January 30, 2000
Old-fashioned barber; newfangled shop
Data ports, fax right up there with clippers, straight razor
BY JENNY CALLISON
Enquirer Contributor
Scott Rose knows that men are loyal to their barbers. So Mr. Rose is using a combination of new technology and old-fashioned comfort and service to lure customers to Gentlemen's Getaway, his new enterprise in downtown Hamilton.
In addition to trimming sideburns and taking some off the top, Mr. Rose offers steam-towel, hot-lather, straight-razor shaves. He also gives facials and scalp manipulations. Customers sit in handsome barber chairs or wait their turn in pleated leather seats.
|
IF YOU GO
|
Gentlemen's Getaway, at 11 N. Third St., is near the new Government Services Building in Hamilton. Owner Scott Rose accepts appointments Mondays, but estimates 99 percent of barbershop business, including his, is walk-in.
The shop is open 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday though Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Free parking is available in the City Parking Garage four doors away.
Call Mr. Rose at 896-7673.
|
Mr. Rose realizes that in a fast-paced world, nobody wants to feel he's wasting time waiting to climb into the barber's chair.
So he offers ways for customers to enjoy themselves if they must wait. A snack room offers coffee, soft drinks and snacks. Mr. Rose is having computer hookups installed so customers can plug in their laptop computers and continue their work. Another room serves as walk-in humidor, filled with almost 100 kinds of premium cigars. A big-screen TV graces one wall. A fax machine stands on the counter.
“A professional person can come in here and conduct business while he waits,” Mr. Rose said.
Since Gentlemen's Getaway opened in December, men from as far as Glendale and Loveland have found his shop. More than a few have anted up for one of Mr. Rose's straight-razor shaves. For those accustomed to beating their chins into submission with a squirt of foam and a series of hurried strokes, the experience is memorable.
“I'll tell you what, it was refreshing,” Tom Rainey said of his initiation into the world of straight-razor shaves. “And I didn't have to shave again for two days.”
Mr. Rainey, of Hamilton's Lindenwald neighborhood, estimated that the whole procedure took about 40 minutes.
“There's more to it than I ever realized. He puts the hot towels on you and shaves downward. Then he put lotion on before shaving again. There is a wax treatment at the end that takes all the oils out of the pores.”
Mr. Rose is proud of his close shaves. They're not the result of using a straight razor, he explained, but of shaving the warmed whiskers three times.
Haircuts are more lucrative, he said, but he loves giving customers a full-treatment shave. A haircut costs $10, a style (shampoo and conditioner) is $14, a steam-towel straight-razor shave is $10, a scalp manipulation/facial is $12, and a Gentlemen's Getaway special (which includes all the services) is $35.
“I really enjoy the service aspect, the feeling that I'm giving them something,” he said.
The new barber expects building his clientele will take time, but he thinks his long-term prospects are good. The Hamilton native is optimistic about the city's downtown.
“I knew that Hamilton was doing downtown restoration. And with the new interstate (connector) coming in, I've got a gut feeling that things are turning around here in Hamilton.”
Mr. Rose, a retired sheriff's deputy, operated a trophy and awards shop in town for seven years. But after hankering for a career in barbering, he enrolled at the Cincinnati School of Barbering and Hair Design.
“I've been cutting hair for a couple of years now, but just officially got my license,” Mr. Rose said.
In creating the environment for his new business, Mr. Rose was assisted by brother Brett, brother-in-law Eric Pohlman and friend David Wolf. They gutted the interior of his shop space and created an ambiance designed to make customers feel at ease. The furniture is dark wood, the colors are rich, and the visual motifs run heavily to manly pursuits.
“David said, "This is what every man wants in his basement,'” Mr. Rose said. “My wife says that every time she comes in here, she grows a beard, the testosterone level is so high.”
While Mr. Rose talked, he gave a trim to one of his former teachers, Duke Baker of Hamilton. Mr. Baker had learned of his student's new venture over breakfast at a local cafe.
“With me being an ex-police officer, living here all my life and playing ball all my life, I know everybody,” Mr. Rose said.
<
Seminar feels richly rewarding
Gold Star hitches up with two new partners
Digital camera records fun at theme park
Going the distance for job-poor Ohioans
Enquirer reporter in Japan with Taft
Are competitors' coupons fueling Febreze rumors?
Classes show how to start from scratch
Old-fashioned barber; newfangled shop
SMALL-BUSINESS DIARY
Priciest home sales
