It wasn’t just haircuts that were missed
Customers and barbers missed the camaraderie of regular visits to shop
Three months is a long time. So long, in fact, that Sherif Sherif could hardly recognize himself in the mirror due to the exponential growth of his hair.
“It’s become this huge Afro,” said Sherif, 20, as he waited for a much-needed haircut at King Cuts Barbershop in Whitby Friday morning. This is his first haircut since early March, and for someone who usually got one every two weeks prior to COVID-19, the wait has been too long.
“It’s almost like the first day of school kind of feeling. I had missed this.”
Friday marked the first day of reopening for many businesses across Ontario, following Premier Doug Ford’s announcement earlier in the week for more regions to enter Phase 2. Toronto and Peel are among areas that are still in Phase 1. Phase 2 reopening means businesses such as barbershops, shopping malls and restaurant patios can start offering services, with proper physical distancing and other safety measures being observed. The province also wants to keep the state of emergency in place until July 15.
King Cuts owner Travis Samuel is happy to see the province easing back into some form of normalcy. He and the community he serves at large “definitely missed” the barbershop atmosphere that allows people to just get together and talk.
“Our barbers are almost like psychologists. Some men really pour their hearts out to us and we give our opinion on a lot of deep stuff, other than just sports and music and cars,” he said.
“The shop is somewhat of an outlet for us and many men and that has been missed. Hopefully we get back to normal soon after this reopening.”
While Sherif and other clients at King Cuts needed that longawaited haircut, he agrees they also missed the “hanging out” aspect of it.
“Oh yeah, we loved to come out and watch soccer games on weekends, for sure,” said Johann Persaud, another regular customer who hadn’t had a haircut since February.
Regular customers and barbers have become buddies at the shop, which opened up near Dundas and Anderson streets five years ago. They used to greet each other with various forms of handshakes and shoulder bumps. Not anymore. Things are different now.
Mason Snagg, one of the four barbers at King Cuts, said every customer has to wear a face mask at all times when inside the shop. That means no one is getting their beard trimmed. No handshakes either, just a wave or elbow bumps.
There are only four chairs for customers waiting to be served, in a room where more than 20 people once sat and chatted with each other while waiting for their turn.
Unlike before COVID-19, customers have to book an appointment and arrive when it’s their time to get a haircut. Those who arrive early are told to wait in their cars or line up outside.
Snagg and the other barber are wearing transparent face shields. They have to wear gloves that are thrown away in the trash after serving only one customer.
Chairs must be sanitized and cleaned before a new client gets a haircut.
These are all the measures that King Cuts put in place on the fly. Samuel said the Durham health department sent out protocols to be followed in the reopening process, but it wasn’t clear on what’s needed. For example, businesses are supposed to ask customers questions before they serve them, but he said there was no list of specific questions to be asked.
“So a lot of it is open for interpretation,” he said.
For a business owner being out of service for three months is hard Samuel said, and can take a physical, mental and, especially, financial toll. He’s applied and received government subsidy but worries it’s not going to help cover all the rent arrears — especially now that appointment-only services will lead to fewer customers.
“We’re planning on proceeding through the challenges of COVID-19 by trying to be sure we keep our barbers and our clients safe, as that is our first priority.”