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Hey Reader,

I wonder how many 100 year old barbershops are remaining in the US. If you know of any, please let me know. I'm genuinely thinking of writing a longer article about the topic.

Here's why this is on my mind this week.

In 2010, I moved to San Luis Obispo (SLO) to go to college at Cal Poly SLO and have lived in SLO ever since, with the exception of 2 years after college graduation when I lived in Europe. In total, I've lived in this city for about 14 years.

In college, I had developed a big interest in visiting different barbershops throughout college. I was cutting hair in the bathroom dorms on campus and was genuinely considering becoming a licensed barber someday which sparked a curiosity that led me to visit various shops around town.

One of those shops was Anderson Barber Shop in downtown. It was first opened in 1923 and was attached to the historic Anderson Hotel. It was actually called Anderson Hotel and Barber Shop. Back in those days, it was standard for barbershops to be located within a hotel. Most men visited the shop more frequently than they do now for a shave. Oh how times are different.

Three years ago, Anderson Barber Shop was unfortunately kicked out of their original location due to a major renovation of the historic building. They were told it was going to be one year and ended up being three years. The owner was forced to move the shop to another location until the renovation was complete. Three years later, they're finally back in the original location.

I was walking downtown for some Mother's Day shopping when I walked right by the shop. Is it weird to say that I got butterflies when I noticed they moved back? I swear, the city should consider placing a historical landmark plaque outside the shop.

Anderson Barber Shop is the oldest original barbershop in San Luis Obispo and I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of the oldest original businesses in the city too. 103 years and counting.

I walked in and caught up with the owner Ray. He's been cutting hair for 58 years. When Ray got his barber license, you had to go the apprentice route. He went to barber school at Moler Barber College in Oakland after graduating high school with the intention of being a barber to pay his way through college. He moved to SLO to attend Cal Poly and started apprenticing at Anderson Barber Shop to finish his hours to get his license.

He opted for the barbershop over finishing school. Ray never got his degree. 10 years later, he ended up buying the shop in 1978. It's been his ever since. When you get to Ray's level, it's common to be cutting 3 generations within a family. Father, son and grandson. I'm no where near that level, but could imagine the honor and joy of experiencing it.

When I walked in at around 3pm on a Friday, he was sweeping a good amount of hair from the floor. If you want to tell how long a barbershop has been town, just take a look at the color of the hair on the floor. To no surprise, Anderson's was mostly white and grey.

The shop has 4 chairs but only 2 are being used. They used to have 3 barbers but one retired. Ray is pushing 60 years of cutting hair and the other barber looked to be in his mid to late 30s.

I'm curious what the future holds for the shop. What will happen when Ray retires? Will Ben take over? Will one barber be able to run the shop alone? Downtown rent in SLO can't be cheap. I just hope they're getting grand fathered in to a screaming deal for being there for 100 years.

Regardless of what happens, it's got me thinking about these century old barbershops. These historical landmarks. We often say that the barbershop is a cornerstone of the community. A century is certainly a cornerstone. I wonder how many are actually left and how many might be on the verge of fading away.

I'm serious about writing a larger article about these century old barbershops. If you know of one in your city, please reply and let me know. I'd love to tell their stories before it might be too late.

Alright, that's all for this week. See you in the next one.

Written by: Matthew Mendoza​​
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