One of an occasional series
Lincoln Barber Shop’s red, white and blue barber pole — the main indicator of an open and inviting salon — was broken for a number of years. It didn’t light up or spin around, and its owners, as always, refused to advertise online or in the papers.
But business remained steady at the Bellevue shop, which celebrated its 50th birthday late last year with a barber shop quartet at its annual neighborhood Christmas party.
And earlier this year, the shop welcomed its fourth generation employee.
Owner Aaron Stubna, who is in his mid-40s, has been cutting hair on Lincoln Avenue for over 25 years in the same shop that his grandfather, Fred Mell, started in 1966. Now, he is showing his 21-year-old son Rourke the ropes in preparation to leave the business to start the region’s first brew theater — a brewpub in a theater — in nearby Stowe.
Aaron Stubna started working at the shop in the early 1990s, joining his aunts, Roe Rizor and Angie Young, who have been cutting hair there since before Mr. Mell died in 1988.
Only two of them are in the barber shop on any given weekday, with all three in the shop on the busier Saturdays. Collectively, they see an average of 25 customers — all male, with a handful of exceptions — each day.
That’s why they don’t feel the need to advertise. At this point, Mr. Stubna said, it would be almost like a jinx.
“People eventually find us,” he said. “It may take them a couple other barbers, especially if they’re moving into town, but once we get them in the chair, we’ve pretty much got them.”
Patrons are loyal to the establishment, with many coming back for decades. Ms. Rizor said since she started working there in 1986, she has seen multiple instances of a child getting his first-ever haircut and his wedding haircut at the shop. Often, three generations of customers will come in the door together — grandfather, father and son.
Mr. Stubna believes customers keep returning because of the quality of the cuts. He said that while he and his aunts “don’t take forever, we do take pride and we do take our time.”
The average cut takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and even if customers are waiting, Mr. Stubna firmly believes in not rushing through a job.
“Monday when I came in, there were five guys waiting for me at the door and they all waited,” Ms. Rizor said. “By the time the fifth one got his hair cut, it was like two hours later … but they didn’t care.”
Customers can sit on century-old church pews, chat with the barbers and grab a beer from the always-stocked fridge in the back. Some come in just for the company.
‘Cheers’ of barber shops
Jim Brose, a retired Gulf Oil employee and Bellevue resident, is a fixture at the barber shop.
Beyond waiting for his haircuts, he gradually spent more and more hours each day “just loafing” at the shop until, as he now jokes, he eventually became a permanent resident. Sometimes he sweeps up hair or takes out the trash, but he says he’s just there for the camaraderie.
“This is like the ‘Cheers’ of barber shops,” Mr. Brose said from his perch on a pew, adding that each day is different and full of laughs.
Mr. Brose said the shop’s customers come from many walks of life and are all “tremendous.” There are more clients from beyond Bellevue than from within the borough’s borders, he added.
The younger Mr. Stubna, who just graduated from a nine-month course at the Barber School of Pittsburgh and is easing into his new job, has also spent lots of time in the shop, having grown up there.
“On days when I was sick and missed school, I’d have to come here,” he said. “When they couldn’t find a baby sitter, I’d hang out here.”
He is the only one of the three children in his family to go into the business.
The shop has remained in its original location on Lincoln Avenue for five decades, retaining its porcelain barber station, twice-reupholstered German Koken barber chairs and ancient cash register that can only ring transactions worth up to five dollars. Black-and-white photographs of Mr. Mell sit in the corner.
The barbers haven’t raised prices in eight years — cuts are still $14 and $12 for seniors. Aaron Stubna joked that even the “old-timers” are beginning to ask when prices will go up.
Still, some things have changed: the walls have been repainted, the barber pole has been replaced, the Dean Martin figure has donned a Sidney Crosby jersey and the barber station wears a decorative happy birthday pennant.
The neighborhood surrounding the barber shop has changed, with the usual ebb and flow of businesses arriving and packing up. Aaron Stubna was one of the driving forces behind one of Bellevue’s biggest transformations — from a previously dry town to one that, after an eight-year battle, has now legalized alcohol sales.
Mr. Stubna, who said he always believed the town has been missing something because of its lack of nightlife, led the charge to change that. He organized monthly art crawls, turning the barber shop into an art gallery and inviting local musicians and business owners to showcase weekend nightlife potential.
“Somebody needs to do something, and if it’s your local barber, then that’s who’s going to do it,” he said.
Mr. Stubna also started the town’s first farmers market, over five years ago.
“It was never about building our business,” he said. “It was all about helping to build this town up.”
‘It’s a throwback’
A barber shop so closely linked to its neighborhood is bound to attract some local celebrities, like Pirates announcer Greg Brown. Mr. Stubna said “Brownie” has been getting his hair cut at the shop for over 15 years and is known for befriending fellow patrons and even handing out free tickets.
“I’ve been going there for a lot of years and the characters that come in and out of there have the makings of a reality TV show,” Mr. Brown chuckled. “[Mr. Stubna and his family] are genuine people, it’s a throwback and it’s fun.”
In fact, word is that Mr. Stubna came up with Mr. Brown’s now-famous home run call, “Clear the deck, cannonball coming.” Mr. Stubna and some family members came up with the idea over drinks at home and voice texted it to Mr. Brown.
Mr. Brown said he started using the catchphrase regularly after hearing a player yell it during batting practice several years ago, after promising Mr. Stubna — who he considers, along with the rest of his family, a close friend — he would try it out.
But, really, it comes back to the haircuts that the barber shop has been giving Pittsburghers for half a century. Even Mr. Stubna won’t get his hair cut anywhere else — he does it himself, using a mirror.
“I tell everybody I go to the best.”
Rachel Treisman: rtreisman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1936. Twitter: @rachel_treisman
First Published: August 7, 2017, 10:30 a.m.
