9 Of Ontario's Best Barbershops To Visit Now That It's Not Illegal
November 28th, 2020.
That was the last day Ontario’s barbers and stylists were allowed to earn a living before a six-month lockdown flung them back into purgatory.
Some of our best shops didn’t make it, not that many businesses did during that second blow.
But for the ones still standing, June 8th, 2021 saw hope come back.
On that welcomed day, barbers and stylists province-wide reopened their doors and popped their corks per an early green light from Doug Ford and co. Haircutters went back to work and men returned to looking agreeable.
Today, we’re grateful that booking a trim no longer means texting your guy or girl and looking over both shoulders on the way.
Still, that guy and girl fought stagnancy, no sleep and madness — and for more than 350 days straight if you count both lockdowns — just to keep ticking. And for the shop owner on Main Street, that’s enough time to haemorrhage cash like it’s blood.
Like your favourite florist and restarateur, barbers and stylists saw a darkness most of us would dodge at all costs. And while they’re now working again, it’ll take months — even years for some — for these folks to recoup what they lost, be it money, spirit or both.
If anything, your guy or girl needs you now more than ever.
So in no particular rank, here are some of Ontario’s best joints to get a cut (or shave) right now (and when you pop by tell them we said hi).
Photo: Andrew Graham
Way up north, not far from a famous basin that pumps out nickel like it’s nothing, lies a real escape from life called Collective Haus (pronounced as “house”) and in it you’ll find the most unapologetically happy team of barbers you’ll ever know. In fact, the place is literally a house.
“It’s a big old one that was built apparently sometime in the 1890’s,” says co-founder, James “Jimmy” Giroux. “The main floor of the house is our Beauty Parlor, and the barbers work in the back in what was a garage at some point. We used to joke about the business being set up like a mullet but now the salon’s just as much a party as the barber shop.”
Sudbury, Ontario
705-470-5179
Photo: Curtis Carriere
Photo: Nikki Ross
What was once a long-shuttered legend on Toronto’s Lakeshore West strip was revived in 2014 by now owner and head barber, Brian Hurson, an Irish ex-pat who bleeds the craft (he teaches it, too). Hurson and his team have since expanded to Dundas West with a second shop, one that’s managed by the intrepid Jill Q-Hall (Antony Bozulic manages Long Branch and snaps all of their sexy pics).
WIth decades worth of experience in the craft, Hurson’s team specializes in slick-backs, duck tails and the rest of your greaser favourites, but they’ll also nail anything else you’ve got in mind.
Two locations in Toronto (including one in Etobicoke)
Photo: Antony Bozulic
Photo: Teagan Walker
If you can lay claim to official barbershop of The Walper — one of Canada’s most beloved boutique hotels — you’re doing it right. Named after its founder, Abel Walper, this five-story, red brick beauty presides at the historic corner of Queen Street and King Street in downtown Kitchener and it was commissioned by Mr. Walper himself in 1893 after the original property went up in a blaze.
As for the shop itself, Abel’s blends what’s old world — this crew never works without their denim aprons — with what’s contemporary (how hot is that mosaic floor?).
Kitchener, Ontario
519-954-9333
Photo: Teagan Walker
Streetwear types who swoon for clean crops and blurry fades can count on this place for the goods. And while shop owner, Giancarlo Fagundes, might look young, the guy boasts over a decade’s worth of experience (our own founder, Dino, was once his mentor), not that anyone on his staff isn’t as deft with a pair of shears.
“We’ve been pretty lucky since this whole thing happened,” says Fagundes. “Let’s just say we’ve been busy since we’ve reopened, which is really goes to show how awesome our community and clients can be.”
Woodbridge, Ontario
905-605-8484
Zach Ledgerwood opened The Gray Whale in 2016, and much to the delight of Old Ottawa’s most discerning of men, too. Speaking of, the shop now serves women and transgendered folks, so it’s no longer a men’s only affair. So you know, we support that.
Ledgerwood and his team have taken care of many a loyal in the five years that have flown by, and we’re not surprised considering all their glowing reviews online and all that talent in-shop.
Ottawa, Ontario
613-695-4777
The guys here get that a shop can look bone minimal, yet still feel every bit as fun as your favourite Rockabilly-inspired joint. Their Parklawn location’s on the ground floor of a big-ass condo building with a sandy stretch of beach for a backyard (courtesy of Lake Ontario), while the other’s smack dab in Mississauga’s historic Streetsville district, one of the few places in our province where you’ll find cobblestone roads.
“We launched the Streetsville shop back in 2012,” recounts Rocco Rago, managing partner and owner. “Parklawn followed suit six years ago.”
Two locations at Parklawn (Toronto) and Streetsville (Mississauga)
Is that the one and only John Olerud on that TV screen? Hey, maybe.
Prime’s as much a museum of manhood as it is a barbershop.
Marvel at their of stack of Van Damme VHS’s, have a go at one of their pinball machines, and if you’re in a Tarantino kind of mood, there’s a Wurlitzer jukebox that works just fine. While you’re at it, rest assured you’ll leave with a handsome haircut.
“There are five of us here,” says Wes Mitchell, owner and head barber. “Cooper and Joy are close to finishing their apprenticeship and Lauren and Alexis are both fully licensed.”
What makes Wes the man is his love for what’s local. Before the bug did its thing, Wes’ team’s hosted 20 music and tv trivia nights and the proceeds went straight to local charities.
The shop sponsors local basketball (Wes coaches boys b-ball) and hockey teams, too.
Woodstock, Ontario
519-290-2467
You’re damn right those are real black velvet paintings, straight from the swinging ‘60s and everything.
Photo: Lori Waltenbury
Gentlemen in the Georgian Bay area have it good when it comes to grooming, and whether it’s a clean up or a beard trim that’s in order, a select few of them forever swear by History’s barbers. Owner and founder, Michael McIntaggart, oversees three shops — midtown Midland, highway 93 in Midland, and downtown Barrie — and he’s got 15 of the best practicing the tonsorial arts in these places.
Three locations in the Barrie/Midland areas.
Photo: Lori Waltenbury
The space within which Kyle Poulton grooms Brantford’s men is a modest one, but his haircuts are far from. And when we say “modest,” think one chair and one chair only.
While we drown in “Instagratification” and rush to every finish line in our mad lives, there’s something grounding — dare we even say old-world — about seeing one skilled professional in a simple space where good chat and fresh coffee always awaits… literally; If you want, Poulton will brew you a cup of heaven with the best of what’s local. Perfect.
Brantford, Ontario
226-493-0722
