The neighborhood barber shop – a place for good haircuts and good conversation, with a stack of men’s magazines like Popular Science and the smell of aftershave. Since 1960, generations of La Mesans have enjoyed the legendary services at Village Station Barber Shop at 5943 Severin Drive. But they don’t have much longer to enjoy this old-school experience. By the end of August, the barber shop will be closed, with the Mt. Helix Academy taking over this last portion of the Severin Shopping Center which, along with the barber shop, used to include a market, a restaurant, and a beauty salon.
Current owner Mike Martin started working at the barber shop in 1969, when it was Blessing’s Barber Shop, and purchased the business when Mr. Blessing passed away. Over the years, Mike has built up a loyal clientele who post reviews praising cuts that are “awesome, consistent, stylish” in an environment that is “pleasant, mature, laid-back, easy-going” at reasonable prices. Mike and Ron are praised for being “friendly, patient, skilled, experienced.” Some recommend a “hot towel full shave if you really want a treat.”
With decades of experience, Mike can recite the history of men’s hair styles from the 1960s to 2025 – and not a few instances of helping negotiate compromises between kids and parents when their views of appropriate hair length differed. He has earned the praise of parents who brought their boys here for their first haircuts, with Mike’s calm demeanor making it less traumatic for all concerned. He still counts among his clients men who got their first haircut at the store decades ago and kept coming back. Over the years, Mike himself married, bought a house, raised two children, and now has three grandchildren.
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Customer loyalty paid off when the shop managed to rebound after the COVID shutdown. But there’s no way forward now that the property has been sold. In retirement, Mike will have more time for fishing. He takes many memories from the shop where he has worked for 56 years. One thing he won’t be taking – or rather 4 things – are the original classic Emil J. Paidar Company barber chairs, the last of the sturdy American-made barber chairs. Mike hopes that someone will choose to buy these chairs, which are in perfect condition, and create their own classic neighborhood barber shop where men can get good haircuts in a traditional atmosphere of masculine grooming.
