Bayside Barbers customer getting a trim (Image: Thomas Dennis)
Uptown Saint John has another shop where people can wrangle and maintain their beards with Bayside Barbers, located on 1 Princess Street and Water Street, which officially opened last Friday.
Owner Thomas Dennis was originally from Niagara, Ontario, where he began barbering two-and-a-half years ago.
“I’d always been interested in barbering and once I got into school for it, it was definitely what I was meant to do and my passion,” says Dennis.
His parents moved to Saint John three years ago and this year Dennis made the jump also move to Saint John in August.
“Saint John just has so much more history to it, the nature is beautiful, the pace of things feels a little bit more comfortable for me and my parents compared to the pace in Niagara and Toronto,” he said. “Coming out here has been so refreshing for us – we love the fog!”
Owner Thomas Dennis inside Bayside Barbers (Image: Thomas Dennis)
Opening a barbershop in Saint John wasn’t an immediate priority. However, after discovering the 1 Princess building was on the market and after seeing there was room for a more modern, trendy barbershop uptown, Dennis went all in on the opportunity to open his own business.
“It was definitely a challenge getting the business situated and even just getting the barber chairs shipped in and all the supplies and all the staff,” he said, adding he had only gotten the keys to the building three weeks before opening.
Starting a business during the pandemic was tricky, but the industry standard of sanitation and disinfection in barbershops that existed prior to the pandemic had set a foundation for complying with COVID protocols.
“It’s impacted business because people are little less comfortable coming in and everything, but we’re doing everything that we can to make it a comfortable and safe environment as possible for all of our clients,” he said.
Bayside Barbers at 1 Princess Street (Image: Thomas Dennis)
The shop offers haircuts, beard trims and hot towel shaves and offers online appointment booking and an online shop, which plans to offer locally made products alongside Crown Shaving Co. products.
“Bayside Barbers is very focused on continuing education,” he said. “We have plans on bringing in guest speakers and educators to constantly be training our staff, so that we’re staying at the forefront of the barber industry in terms of our skill level and techniques.”
Dennis’ five-year goal is to have at least two other Bayside Barbers locations in Atlantic Canada, with plans to host workshops, events and barber competitions.
“The community in Saint John is…I’ve never seen a community so supportive and tied together,” he said. “We’ve had so many people from all the different local businesses and citizens and just come up to the door and say, ‘congratulations’ and ‘welcome to the town,’ it’s been so welcoming and comforting to have that surrounding us.”
This story was originally published on Huddle.Today – an Acadia Broadcasting Limited content partner.
