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FAR LEFT: Eric and Jordan specialize in unique design cuts.
CENTER: Pizer’s Barbershop is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. Weekday hours will be extended in 2013.
THIRD FROM LEFT: One of the three antique barber chairs Eric purchased for the shop.
FAR RIGHT: Eric uses a special barber’s vacuum on every customer to get the cut hair out of the customer’s scalp. It helps a lot on lunch breaks and
when customers have something important to do afterwards.
The other two he bought from two different
,old barbershops, which had both been open
since the early 1900s. Those two chairs, one
red and one black, are from 1910 and 1908,
respectively. Eric secured the services of an
upholstery shop to refurbish the chairs.
For his shop, he sought a locale that was
central to Imperial, a space in a vacant section
of the building that is attached to The Inn
Place. Pizer’s Barbershop is located less than
a quarter mile from the newly reconstructed
main intersection in Imperial on Steubenville
Pike. With some help from his family, friend
Joey Welsh, and girlfriend Melissa Braddock,
Eric remodeled the entire space. He installed
walls, had the electric repaired, and completed
new plumbing installations. He also took
$500 or so in pennies to create the customer
counters.
Jordan Boyd, from McDonald, joined Eric
at the shop this year at the beginning of April.
Jordan has four years of experience cutting
hair, and is also state certified as a barber
manager. Eric said, “Jordan is like a partner
and I hope to work in the field with him for the
next 30 years!”
Pizer’s Barber Shop opened up on January 1
of this year. Eric says, “clients of the shop
have been spreading word of this diamond in
the rough like wildfire since day one.”
Every day Jordan and Eric strive to tweak
things until they are where they want them to
be. Eric plans to upgrade his signage, get a third
barber in the shop, and add more artwork on
the walls. Presently, ink and pen artwork by
Tempy Moore (Art for Yinz), lines the walls,
mostly depicting sports figures. The theme is a
West Allegheny sports barbershop!
He’s also planning to open a second shop in
the Oakland section of town near the University
of Pittsburgh.
He points to the barber pole that spins
outside his front door, and explains that only
certified barbers are permitted to display and
operate one. He notes that there are only a
couple of them operating in the Western
Allegheny area.
In addition to men’s haircuts, which are
reasonably priced at $12, the shop provides
shape-ups for $5, straight razor head shaves,
eyebrow, mustache, and beard trims, and hot
lather shaves.
He offers discounts for seniors and military
personnel, too. They can do short haircuts for
women. Eric said it’s important to point out
that he and Jordan use a new razor blade on
every customer.
“Both barbers use between 10-20 blades a
day on haircuts and five on each shave; I want
each customer to have a new, clean blade, so
that they get the very best precision haircut,”
he explains.
Eric plans on having customer appreciation
days in the new year, as well as events like
free haircut days, and raffling off Penguin,
Pirate, Panther, and Steelers tickets. Eric and
Jordan have many other ideas in the making.
The MAIN IDEA, he emphasized, is that
guys come to get a great haircut, socialize,
make new contacts, enjoy their time there,
and BRING BACK THE BARBER SHOP
OF OLD!
WHAT CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING . . .