Business & Tech
Meet Miguel Nieves: West Chester Champion Barbershop And School Owner
Nieves was nominated for a national Barber Entrepreneur Grammy Award. The winner will be announced in May during a ceremony in Connecticut.
WEST CHESTER, PA —Growing up in West Chester, Miguel Nieves was trying to figure out his calling.
The Henderson High School graduate enjoyed art and was thinking about being a designer.
Eventually, Nieves realized that being a barber was the perfect fit to channel his artistic creativity and entrepreneurial spirit into a career.
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He graduated from the Hair Academy School of Barbering and Beauty in Newark, Del., in 2004.
Nieves launched his first location in 2010 on a small scale, building his first team of barbers.
Find out what's happening in West Chesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
He opened the Champion School of Barbers at 304 S High St., three blocks from West Chester University.
Nieves later opened Premier Suites, a collaborative platform for new, aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own businesses on Church Street.
In 2020, during the pandemic, businesses came to a halt when Gov. Wolf issued the stay-at-home order.
Nieves came up with a new plan to survive. He opened Champions Dog Parlor.
"Everything was closed down during the pandemic,” he said. “I realized that as long as you sold food to animals, you are essential, and I opened the dog parlor.”
He said the pandemic caused hardship on business, noting he lost some of his barbers. And in 2022, Nieves and a partner opened Razrbar in downtown Wayne.
“I attribute a lot of my success to the mindset of being a champion,” he said. “Those who are determined enough will overcome challenges.”
All of this hard work has led to Nieves being nominated for the National Barber Entrepreneur of the Year Grammy award.
Judges are reviewing the nominations, and the winner will be announced at a black-tie Grammy award event on May 20 at the Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.
Nieves is married and has a three-year-old son and a baby on the way.
His friend, Josh Stehle, has helped Nieves prepare for the awards ceremony by creating a video and photos.
Stehle said that Nieves' message is all about helping people in the community of West Chester.
“We think that having a barber from West Chester win a Grammy, especially somebody like Miguel, could be really awesome,” Stehle said.
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