Old School Barber Shoppe: the cutting edge of classic barber style
Find the door between SaltCellar restaurant and the corner of 1st Ave and 11th Street. Take a turn up the stairs, go ahead through the door and enter a lost world. You stand on heart pine floors, behind you is an exposed brick wall, and before you is what looks to be a turn-of-the-century barber shop, complete with period furniture, décor and solid barber chairs. No, you haven’t entered a time warp, though you have stepped back in time. You’ve arrived at Old School Barber Shoppe (1041 1st Ave, Columbus).
Old School Barber Shoppe is the dream manifested of owner-operator Sherrie Grabis. After twelve years working in accounting, Sherrie found herself in a corner office with a view and feeling trapped. She wanted to be around people, and craved a challenge. “I needed to do something I didn’t know how to do,” she said on a recent afternoon in the shop. Though she had worked hard to advance her career, Sherrie was ready for a change. That’s when she walked into a barber shop.
“I thought, this is the coolest place I’ve ever been,” she says of discovering the barber shop. It was a men’s barber shop, and Sherrie remembers falling in love with the music and unfiltered conversation. Sherri is petite, with blonde hair cascading past her shoulders; she also has colorful tattoos running up both of her arms and speaks with a distinctive southern drawl, giving off a wry, tomboyish attitude. She talked to the owner of the barber shop before making up her mind. With no barbering experience, she boldly abandoned her successful, comfortable career and set out on the uncertain path of pursuing a dream.
After barber school and a year at another shop, Sherrie made another bold decision. She set out to establish her ideal barber shop. “I wanted somewhere I wanted to work,” Sherrie said, “a place I could lead from behind the chair.” She envisioned a place where men would feel at home, a place far removed from the salon vibe. Her aesthetic vision was specific: authentic 1880s – 1920s barbershop. She has meticulously recreated this style, from the vintage chairs (which she and her husband refurbished) to the antique decorations and fixtures (including one bottle of Snake Oil, made right here in good ole Columbus, Ga).
Sherrie and her team focus on authentic, classical style and services. Working with a straight razor is essential at Old School Barber Shoppe, whether for razor fades or shaves, and the hot lather and warm towels make the experience a relaxing indulgence. (We should mention the hot lather comes from a modern machine. Look, if you’ve never had a shave with hot lather, you’re missing out. Seriously.) For those among us who believe in beards, Sherrie prides herself on Old School Barber Shoppe’s expertise in beard maintenance. Want to grow a beard but aren’t sure how to go about it? Old School will get you on the path to immaculately-groomed facial hair, in any style.
Increasingly, men are recognizing the importance of maintaining their skin, eyebrows and ears. At Old School Barber Shoppe, they do it all. There was a time in America when to be a well groomed man, you had regular facials. A cleanse, massage, exfoliation and mask were all part of your regular routine at the barber shop. Why do mob bosses and cattle barons from the old movies spend so much time in barber shops? Because men of means spent time in the barber shop, maintaining their prosperous appearance. We’re not suggesting you guys get involved with organized crime, only that those guys had good ideas when it came to grooming, ideas the modern man has every reason to adopt.
Like all innovators, Sherrie’s story is one of bold decisions and the pursuit of visions no one else can see. She read the tea leaves, so to speak, and staked her new career and future on the return of the classic in men’s style. The result is the vestige of something lost, of a time when men knew the importance of investing in their appearance, when they patronized shops built around helping them look their best. When you’re ready to look your best, visit the original, the authentic men’s barber shop – right in the heart of Uptown, where Sherri and her team are on the cutting edge of classic barber style.