Local Shops for Local People #1: Club Barber (Interview and Photographs)

Club Barber, owned and operated by Brody and Emma, is a relatively new barber shop in Grimsby which caters to providing an experience beyond a simple hair cut – including video games in the waiting area and semi-regular events featuring music and input from a variety of businesses.

In February, I visited Club Barber and spoke with Brody, spending some time in the establishment and photographing Brody at work with a client.

Like many similar businesses, Club Barber was disrupted by the nationwide lockdown but has since reopened with an expansion of the team.

The text of my interview with Brody is as follows.

PL: ‘How old is your business? What are your long-term aims for the business?’

Brody: ‘We opened Club Barber at the start of December [2019]. We plan to offer a different experience that people have never seen or experienced before when coming to get a haircut. We offer hot and cold drinks, we have an XBox with a few different games, we have a dart board, we play up-to-date music and have the latest magazines. We will also be hosting events where we will be collaborating with other local companies. Keep a look out on our social media platforms: Facebook and Instagram. We will soon be launching an online booking system so our clients can book which barber they would like to cut their hair, on a certain day and at a certain time. In the not so distant future, we would like another shop in the local area, and eventually expand out of town to other towns and cities. We are chiefly using social media to get our name out there as much as possible and to showcase what services we have to offer’.

PL: ‘What challenges have you faced in terms of establishing the business: for example, in terms of local authority regulations, attitudes of local residents)?’

Brody: ‘The main challenge we faced was with the local authority and having to wait for long periods of time in order to find out things such as acceptance of planning permision, etcetera. Just for us to change the outside front of the shop we had to wait 12 weeks. We were not even allowed to touch the paint colour!’

PL: ‘What response have you had from the local community? How would you describe your relationship with the local market?’

Brody: ‘The local residents have been very supportive and have helped us out massively, spreading the word and becoming return customers. We have not had any issues with anyone in the local area; we have had nothing but support’.

PL: ‘How could businesses like yours be better supported? What could help you to thrive?’

Brody: ‘Free local advertisements from the local paper would be great for new local businesses; also shops in the local area letting us put a small poster up. Some of them do, but some of the bigger chains don’t’.

Visit Club Barber on their website, Facebook page or Instagram account.