Classic barbershop to open in Woodbury

An Elk River man who misses the old time feel of a classic barbershop is bringing it to Woodbury.

Steve Rusher, owner of Roosters Men’s Grooming Center, will open the new barbershop at the former Blockbuster location on Donegal Drive on Oct. 15.

The franchise that started in the late 1990s by a man and his son in Austin, Texas, is promoting the traditional barbershop focusing on men’s haircuts and shaves.

Rusher said he grew up going to barbershops in Illinois before it became a “lost art.”

“This was the days when I had hair and men’s hair got long,” he said with a smile. “Since we moved to Minnesota I haven’t found a good barber.”

Rusher said he looked into other franchise opportunities from home improvement stores to pizza restaurants, but the concept of Roosters was the most appealing to him.

“The more we looked at it, the more we liked it,” he said. “This resonated with me.”

Roosters founders had partnered with a company that helped them standardize the look of the place to make it more classic and timeless, Rusher said.

In 2011, Regis Corporation also made an investment into Roosters and turned two existing Regis salon locations in the Twin Cities into barbershops.

Rusher called the Woodbury location the first “true Roosters” because it’s run by master barbers rather than cosmetologists.

The services offered at Roosters will include shampoo, cuts and shaves by six master barbers in the appointment-based barbershop.

One-on-one relationships will be encouraged as the men sit in big leather chairs surrounded by mahogany and oak wood accents.

Everything will be done right in the chair with a sink nearby and all the tools the barbers need.

“What I liked about this is everything is upscale,” Rusher said.

He added that men who choose the barbershop will be treated to a 30-minute appointment that will make them feel refreshed.

He plans to “rebuild that one-on-one relationship between the barbershop and the customer” and encourages fathers to bring their sons with them for haircuts.

“A classic American barbershop updated for the 21st century,” Rusher said, describing his shop.

Roosters Men’s Grooming Center took 1,360 square feet of space that were once part of Blockbuster.

Blockbuster closed earlier this year and has since been divided into three spaces. So far two businesses, Roosters and Freeziac yogurt shop, have been leased up.

Tags: business