A new upscale men’s hair salon has opened downtown, a stone’s throw away from two traditional barber shops that have been cutting hair for decades.
Gentlemen’s Grooming Lounge at 27 Purchase Street is the third outlet for co-owner Agon Gega and his partners, who also own shops in White Plains and Manhattan. Rye was particularly attractive to them, Gega said, because so many people from the town were trekking to White Plains for haircuts and shaves.
The old school barbers, Gega added, should not see the Gentlemen’s Grooming Lounge at 27 Purchase Street as a threat.
“We serve a different clientele with different services and prices,” he said. “It’s more like a salon than a barber shop.”
Contrasts between the new Rye establishment and the traditional shops are clear. Gentlemen’s Grooming Lounge opened with an website where customers can schedule appointments, while neither Frank’s Barber Shop at 36 Purchase Street nor Central Barber Shop at 49 Purchase Street have sites. A men’s haircut at Gentlemen’s Grooming Lounge costs $65, while standard haircuts at Frank’s and Central cost $30.
For some men, the older shops’ simplicity and value remain very appealing.
As a review left on Yelp for Frank’s put it: “This is an old school barbershop with a bunch of old school barbers who give great haircuts.”
Or as another customer wrote about Central (which first opened in 1927): “Great haircut! Wonderful fellas who have many decades of experience. The only place I’ll go.”
Gega voiced respect for traditional shops, saying he and his partners come from uncles and grandfathers who were barbers.
“Our target,” he said, “is people who care about their look and experience and are willing to pay the price.”
