Three generations celebrate Bellarmine Barber Shop
One of San Jose's oldest businesses survived by changing with the times
it could last for several decades more. When he opened the shop on Emory Street — a 150-square-foot space with room for just two barber chairs — Gabe Gonzales asked the Jesuit boys school across the street if he could use the name. How's that for built-in marketing? He also channeled his hair-cutting profits into real estate, buying homes and fixing them up to sell. Like any good barber, he kept his ears open as his scissors snipped, asking his customers in real estate about any properties coming soon to market.
“I have enjoyed it here, and I've got a lot of good customers and a lot of them kept coming back,” Gabe Gonzales said.
That list includes generations of Bellarmine and Santa Clara University students and alumni, including NFL quarterback Dan Pastorini and former San Jose Mayors Tom McEnery and Sam Liccardo, who probably got his first haircut from Gabe Gonzales.
“Gabe knew the one secret that could keep a 6-year-old still in the chair long enough to endure a haircut: the promise of a grape blow pop, which was reliably produced after every haircut,” said Liccardo, who has been going to the shop ever since, though “without compensation,” he notes. “So I estimate they owe me about 283 blow pops by now.”
Liccardo's father, Sal, also still goes to the shop and got a haircut there this week, though he may not have remembered to pick up a blow pop for his son. (In the interest of full disclosure, most of my haircuts since 2005 have been at Bellarmine, too, though I've been known to stray.)
After he retired, Gabe Gonzales continued to cut hair for 15 years at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos but had to stop when COVID-19 struck. His wife of 75 years died in 2019, and these days, he stays active by playing golf a couple of times a week. He took up the sport in his 50s and often plays with the same judges, priests and lawyers whose hair he had been cutting for decades.
But along with a steady stream of regulars, staying current has helped Bellarmine stay in business, Faria said. During COVID-19, the shop started taking appointments, which proved very popular
with customers. Services now go beyond a standard haircut, including fades, beard trims, shampooing, “camouflage color” for men and even a basic facial. The shop now welcomes in women for haircuts.
“We're keeping some stuff the same, but it's growing a little bit, too, and changing,” said Stacey Gonzales, who also worked at Bellarmine Salon at Santana Row — an offshoot that Faria opened in 2005 before realizing juggling two places was too much and selling it a couple of years later. “I'm happy to continue the legacy my grandfather built.”
SPIRITUAL SOUNDS >> Baritone Robert Sims, who has performed at Carnegie Hall and with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, will bring his voice to Palo Alto this weekend for “Alive in the Spirit,” a special concert at the First Congregational Church on Sunday. Sims will join the Congregational Concert Chorale, accompanied by piano and organ, in traditional spirituals, including “Glory, Glory Hallelujah,” “Go Down Moses” and “My Good Lord's Done Been Here.”
The concert at the First Congregational Church, 1985 Louis Road, starts at 3 p.m. and is sponsored by the Friends of Music, though donations will be accepted.
CULTURAL CONNECTION >> One of the programs created to help San Jose residents get out and stay engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic was the Abierto program — that's “open” in Spanish. It started by providing grant money for outdoor events where people could enjoy activities more safely, but it's still going strong in its mission of providing residents with things to do. The program, run by the mayor's office, recently supported “Viva Mexico, Viva America,” a two-day concert and dance performance by folklÓrico company Los Lupeños de San Jose staged last weekend at the Mexican Heritage Plaza theater.
Because of the grant, tickets were offered for just $5 to make the production accessible to the community around the East San Jose landmark at King Road and Alum Rock Avenue. The result was a pair of sold-out shows, with a lot of people being exposed to the performing arts.