Every guy has to get his hair cut sooner or later. It’s just one of those things in life that most of us would rather leave to the pros.
If you live in Concord, there’s no shortage of places to get a new ‘do – the city is practically the hair-cutting capital of New England. Apparently we’re pretty serious about our locks around here.
That’s why it’s never a bad idea to open a new barber shop, and that’s exactly what Dylan Ames and Adam Ford have done with Brothers Barber Co. on North State Street.
“We’re just trying to bring something nice to Concord,” said Ames, a native of the capital city.
Ames and Ford have been cutting hair in Concord for years, and all of the barbers at Brothers have worked at places like American Barber Studios and Buzz Ink. In other words, these guys aren’t exactly new to town.
They opened up shop about three weeks ago, and they’re still making some tweaks to fine-tune the whole operation.
“There’s more stuff to come,” Ford said. “TVs, better surround sound.”
That’s not to say the place isn’t ready to go as is – you’ll see everything you’d expect to see at a legit barber shop and more.
This is a full-service barber shop, meaning you can get a classic straight-razor shave, as well as beard and moustache trims. All shaves and cuts come complete with a hot towel.
There’s a bar in the back where you can hang out and have a snack or drink while you wait for your turn, although you should never have to wait too long.
“The biggest thing we do is try to keep the wait down,” Ames said. “We run pretty much all by appointment.”
Walk-ins are welcome, but Brothers likes to use a state-of-the-art scheduling system run through its website, brothersbarbercompany.com.
If you click view appointment schedule, you can see each barber’s daily schedule and pick out a time that works for you. If you’re accessing the page from your phone, you can click a call button and it will place a call directly to that barber.
The system can also send you text and email alerts reminding you of your appointment. Nothing worse than forgetting about an appointment for a nice trim and shave.
Ames and Ford said they haven’t seen this system used anywhere around here, but it’s been working out for them so far.
They realize that since there are so many hair places in Concord – Brothers even shares a building with a salon – they have to think about the overall experience as much as the product.
“We’re focusing a lot more on service,” Ames said. “We don’t do 20-minute haircuts,” he added as he entered about minute 30 of the cut he was working on during the interview.
In the chair was Casey Crumb, a longtime customer making his first visit to Brothers. He doesn’t mind sitting 30 or more minutes for a solid cut in a relaxing environment.
“It’s worth it,” he said.
The prices are set by each barber, so there’s no set rate. You can contact the barbers to talk about their rates, but most cuts range between $25 and $40.
The barbers at Brothers only cut guys’ hair, but all ages are welcome. And it’s not jut a boys’ club – moms and sisters and aunts and nieces and everyone else is allowed in, too.
“We want to create a good environment for everyone,” Ames said. “We want everyone to feel comfortable. We want to make people love their hair.”
The shop gives off a very relaxed vibe, what with the tiki bar out back and model VW buses sprinkled throughout the shelves. Once the TV and surround are set up, it’s gonna be a straight-up hangout spot.
As far as the cuts, you can get anything you want. These guys aren’t afraid to try anything.
Can you get, say, a purple mohawk?
“We can’t dye it purple, but we’ll do anything you want,” Ames said. You actually could get a temporary color spray if you want, just not a true, long-lasting dye.
“We do a large amount of crazy cuts, all the time,” Ames said.
If the atmosphere isn’t cool enough for you yet, don’t panic. The guys – who are not brothers, by the way, but they don’t mind being mistaken as such – have plenty of plans in the works, beyond the TVs and surround sound systems.
“We’d like to put up old pictures of Concord and stuff on all the walls,” Ford said. They like the history of Concord and want to reflect that in their shop. Plus, old-timey Concord pictures always set a nice tone.
In the meantime, check out the shop as is at 485 N. State St., or call 496-7320 for more info.
