Like Mike’s barber shop, salon opens

New business is in former Spat & Slipper location

POTTSTOWN » It started with an idea on the back of a napkin. Now, almost two years later, Mike Howell has opened his second Like Mike’s barber shop location. The newest location, 79 N. Charlotte St. in Pottstown held its grand opening May 11.

Howell purchased the former Spat & Slipper barber shop in Pottstown and salon last September when owner Neil Gazzillo announced he was retiring after 55 years in the business. Gazzillo was one of the guests at Friday’s event.

Howell, who has been licensed to cut hair for 25 years, said he renovated one of the building’s apartments, the salon and added a wax bar to the middle of the building.

He kept some of Gazzillo’s memorabilia too, buying a towel warmer from the early 1900s and other barber shop items.

“I want to honor him,” Howell said. “Ted [Stanton], one of his stylists, is working for me.”

The original Like Mike’s in Phoenixville opened in 2009, at 59 N. Main St. The shop on Charlotte Street in Pottstown is a unisex barber shop/salon and is also multi-cultural.

“I really want to service anyone that has hair,” Howell said, calling the business “another opportunity to add value to the community.”

Among the guests at the grand opening event was Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence Jr., who took the opportunity Friday to have his hair cut by Howell.

Lawrence said he got to know Howell more than 20 years ago, when Howell was cutting hair in Norristown and has watched him grow as a businessman.

“I am thrilled for Pottstown,” Lawrence said during the event.

PHOTOS BY MONICA SAGER — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA A May 11 ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of Like Mike’s second location — this one in Pottstown. Mike Howell owns and operates the barber shop and salon, a property he purchased from the former owner of Spat & Slipper, Neil Gazzillo.

Like Mike’s barber shop and salon has opened at 79 N. Charlotte St. in Pottstown. The shop is owned by Mike Howell and is the second Like Mike’s location. Howell purchased the former Spat & Slipper last fall.

Mike Howell, owner of the new Like Mike’s in Pottstown, cuts Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence Jr.’s hair during the May 11 grand opening of the new barber shop. Like Mike’s opened in the former Spat & Slipper, 79 N. Charlotte St.