Like most cities Scottsdale, Arizona depends on goods and services
primarily from the corporate world.
That’s life today but occasionally it’s nice to break the habit and buy
something from a local independent entrepreneur.
This was easy many years ago as there were plenty of local
businesses like diners and restaurants that cooked hamburgers in a way today’s
chain restaurants can only dream about.
Most towns also had the locally owned “malt shop” where kids would meet
after school or on a Saturday night.
One place I remember from my youth is the local barber
shop. In our Cincinnati neighborhood it
was “Joe the Barber.” Joe would cut my
hair as he thought my mother would like it rather than how I thought it should
be. I will never forget the smell of the
Fitch Hair Tonic he would use to plaster down my pre-teen hair. In retrospect, I guess it was worth the $1 he
charged.
Joe never took appointments.
Customers would walk in, sit down, and wait their turn while listening
to Joe’s scratchy radio broadcasting Arthur Godfrey or Paul Harvey. Customers would chat or read magazines while
they waited their turn.
Today in Scottsdale, a lot of the old barbershops like Joe’s
are gone as their owners either died off or didn’t do enough business to
warrant unlocking the door in the morning. Many have been replaced by chain or franchise
styling salons or updated versions of barbershops that are also chains or
franchises.
In May, 2010, I decided to check and see if any of the old
shops were left. As I crossed Scottsdale
Road going west on Indian School Road, I noticed a barber pole in front of a
narrow shop in a small strip center. I
parked and approached the Scottsdale Barber Shop. I couldn’t think of a name more appropriate
than that and as I entered, I wasn’t disappointed.
A lady named Roza owned the place with members of her
family, including her husband Raffail, and her son and daughter. It was the nirvana of old time barber shops
as Roza told me that the chairs were 70 years old and the barber pole in front
was 90 years old.
The shop has been in business since 1957. They offer all the amenities of the old days including a straight razor
shave, hot towels, neck and shoulder massage, and, of course, a haircut. Arthur Godfrey and Paul Harvey are gone but
have been replaced by a couple of televisions.
One customer told me he lived at 154th Avenue and Van Buren
Street but it was worth the price to visit Roza’s place and get his “ears
lowered.”
After a nice visit, I felt the euphoria of feeling like I
was 10 again and walking out of Joe’s.
I’m going to Roza’s for my next haircut as long as she promises not to
use any Fitch’s Hair Tonic.
Fast forward to the
present. Roza and her family are still
doing business at the same location giving the same quality and service as seven
years ago when I wrote the above. It’s
proof that the public knows a good thing when they see it and will return.
