Hollow Ground, a hip new west end barbershop, sticks to the basics

It’s hard for us to get the three barbers who run Hollow Ground, Bloor and Dovercourt’s attention-getting new barbershop, to elaborate about what they do. It’s simply a barbershop, they say. But it’s obvious the guys are doing something right. The community hasn’t stopped coming through the doors since the shop’s soft opening at the end of May.

Co-owner Dru Barrow describes his store as a classic barbershop with a modern twist.

“We’re doing classic cuts and shaves just like any barbershop. In theory we are quite straight forward,” he says.

Co-owner Beejay Diona, who worked with Barrow previously, is a self-taught barber who has been cutting hair since he was a teenager. He says what’s unique about his shop is that they don’t specialize.

“We cut all types, short, long, young to old,” Diona says. “We do shaves, whatever they want. This whole area is random; everybody wants everything.”

With discount seniors and kids pricing ($15), it’s easy to see why the store attracts a range of customers. Diona says they’ve even done first haircuts for babies.

Diona’s cousin, co-owner Pernell Patara, joined in the venture because he wanted to relocate downtown after working in the west end. He says the store’s philosophy, to serve everyone, is not something every barber agrees with.

“A lot of barbers turn people away depending on their hair type,” Patara says. “There’s been gentlemen that have come all the way from Lansdowne and have said they won’t take me, and we’re like, ‘that’s weird.’”

Not turning away customers includes serving women.

While Diona says they don’t advertise it, women have come into the store. And, he says, they charge fairly. If a woman wants a typical barber cut, they charge the same price ($22). If she wants more of a styled cut, they may charge $30.

While the guys play cool about their passion for barbering, the store’s décor tells a whole other story. Filled with retro and antique barber gear, including a beautiful old barber chair, Burrow says the guys were really excited about finding a barber pole they wanted.

“When we received it, we were giddy like school children, but unfortunately the shipping carrier broke the glass on it,” Burrow says. “So we’re currently replacing it … we wanted a larger size than your normal pole and they are hard to find … hopefully the glass will arrive soon because that will be the icing on the cake, to put that up. To be a true barbershop you need a pole.”

For now, it seems like they are a true barbershop without one.

Hollow Ground 1053 Bloor Street West, 416-551-8929

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