‘Modern Male’ gets OK for barber school

Council approves school use for barber training center at 209 W. Main St.

A local barber training academy is one big step closer to setting up shop in Lansdale.

Nick Prosseda, owner of a series of Modern Male barbershops across Montgomery County, made the case to Lansdale’s borough council last week to start a new barber school at 209 W. Main Street.

“We plan on being in the Lansdale area for at least five to 10 years, because it’s going to take us time to build up the school,” Prosseda said.

“In the meantime, we’re going to be somewhat limited, because we will not necessarily have 20 chairs operating at any given time. We’ll do shifts: an A.M., midday, and P.M., when we’re fully functional,” he said.

Earlier this month, Prosseda first told borough council’s code enforcement committee of his plans to open what would be his company’s fifth location, in addition to shops in Sellersville, Quakertown, Perkasie and Souderton. His next future home is located at 209 W. Main St., the building adjacent to Railroad Plaza and last occupied by Red Lotus Tattoos and Tabora Farms, and Prosseda made his case to full council last week for conditional use approval, to allow the educational component in the downtown business district where the shop would be located.

“In the state of Pennsylvania, owning barbershops, you’re allotted one to two students per shop, depending on the licensing: you have to have a barber, manager, and instructor license,” he said.

“Because we’re limited to the amount of students that we want to teach, that’s the reason why the school has come,” he said.

Students would take part in state-mandated training that adds up to 1,250 total hours, six to eight hours per day over roughly nine months, and the training space would likely take up around 2,900 square feet in the current building, Prosseda told council. Depending on growth, the barber school could expand into the adjacent building at 211 W. Main St. if more chairs are needed for students to offer low-cost cuts while learning the finer points of barbering, and students would be told to use public parking lots to avoid taking street spaces.

“We would probably go so far as to pay for it: the school would pay for the parking, the student wouldn’t have to worry about it, and daily coins would be given out, or whatever it may be, for the machines,” Prosseda said.

Resident B.J. Breish asked what impact the Modern Male school would have on competing barber shops, if the school is able to offer a lower price for a student to try a cut on a willing customer.

“Just like anything, you have options. You have the ability to get a $400 car detail, or go through a drive through and pay $24,99 and get ‘The works’ done,” Prosseda said.

“Really, for us, it’s not about the $5 or %10 cut. I think a lot of what we’ll end up doing is a lot of charity work, because that turns into a win-win situation,” he said.

Ryan Adams, owner of the American Shave House barbershop in town, said he had the same concern: would a low-priced student cut attract customers away from him?

“We would want our students to have a place to go to. If you start to degrade, or discredit, the local barbershops, then you can’t provide a place of employment for them,” Prosseda said.

“We’re talking about graduating 20-plus students a year. Where are they going to go? They’re not all going to open up their own shop, they’re going to want to work for people,” he said.

As the only such school in town, Prosseda said, Modern Male could also develop relationships by having other local barbers come in and give lessons on certain styles or techniques, or talk about their different business models and opportunities.

“Maybe a student would want to go shadow them, or pay a visit to their shop, and make a decision on if they want to be employed there,” Prosseda said.

After Prosseda answered every question during a public hearing, councilman Jack Hansen, as chairman of the code committee, moved that council grant conditional use approval to Modern Male for a teaching academy, with the condition that staff and students be advised to use municipal lots and not onstreet parking.

Council member Carrie Hawkins Charlton seconded, council President Denton Burnell added that the borough planning commission had vetted the application and recommended the conditional use be granted, and council then voted unanimously in favor.