By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
The full service barber shop is one of institutions that has almost slipped into history. You know, that old-fashioned the shave-and-a-haircut place with the barber pole out front that is wholly centered on the specialty of meeting the unique grooming needs of men and boys. It’s that kind of place where a customer is always treated like a ‘regular’; no matter whether he has gone there since he was a child, or whether it’s his first time through the door. Sadly, those types of places are few and far between anymore.
Fortunately, the recently re-conceived Mesquite Barber Shop is just such a place.
The shop, which had long been in operation on Mesquite Boulevard, was purchased last July by business partners and friends Matt McKinney and Uziel Nuñez. Since that time it has undergone a dramatic transformation.
“It was kind of run down when we first started,” said McKinney. “We decided to put a little bit into it to clean it up and make it more inviting.”
What they did was a complete remodel: new walls, new flooring new chairs and fixtures. They even acquired some attractive original artwork to adorn the walls. Now the place is sparkling, fastidiously clean and completely inviting.
“We feel like we have spared no expense to make it a place where our customers want to spend time,” McKinney said. “And we go the extra mile to make sure that it is the cleanest barber shop possible. We want it to be spotless and clean.”
Both Nuñez and McKinney have master barber licenses which means they pay attention to the details. They can do any men haircut that is requested of them; from the classic regular cut to the most challenging taper fades. And every haircut ends with that final old-fashioned touch up at the back of the neck and around the ears with a straight razor.
Speaking of straight razors, the shop also offers full service straight razor shaves.
“If done right, a straight razor shave should be a completely relaxing experience,” McKinney said. “It is kind of a luxury item for men.”
The thirty-minute process starts with placing specially heated and scented towels over the parts of the face that will be shaved. A special warm and soothing shaving cream is then applied before the straight razor shave.
“I’ve actually had customers fall asleep in the chair during a shave,” McKinney said.
Over the past year, business at the shop has become quite busy.
“Most small businesses in town have been struggling so we expected it to take six months or more to develop our clientele,” McKinney said. “But to be honest it only took about six days before the word got out and we had customers. We’ve been really lucky to be doing something where there is a real demand for quality service.”
The shop is primarily run by appointment only. Walk-ins are only accepted if the customer is lucky enough to come during a gap in one of the men’s schedule’s; which happens very seldomly these days, McKinney said.
“We value our customer’s time and we want them to feel valued as our customers,” McKinney said. “So we allow them to make appointments and we stay pretty strictly on time with our schedules.”
The cost for services at the sop is quite reasonable. A standard haircut is $15. The cost is the same for a classic shave. A haircut for kids under 12 is $12.
The Mesquite Barber Shop is located at 111 E. Mesquite Blvd in Mesquite. It is open on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.. The shop is closed Sundays. Appointments can be made by calling the shop at 702-346-3336.
