Ok, I know some of you guys remember the real thing...in fact I have some memories of going to an old time barber with my Dad and hanging out while he had his cut done, but these guys take it to the next level.
There was a Torontonian named Brian who did a Barber apprenticeship in Ireland in his 30's and then came back to Toronto to look for a good location to open his dream shop.
Jump back to the 40's when the original Night Owl Barber Shop was opened by a recent war immigrant to Canada. It ran for almost 60 years and finally closed its doors as the last of the old time Barbers finally left the shop. The owner of the building had a bug in him about the shop and refused to renovate it or rent it out to any other business, so it actually remained shuttered for a decade in a vibrant shopping area in western Toronto. The shop was abandoned as is, with the original chairs, sinks, furniture and decoration.
Finally Brian and the building's owner found each other and the Night Owl re-opened a couple of years ago after a ton of cleaning and restoration work in almost exactly the same configuration as it was originally. They even found boxes of magazines in a back storage room that they rotate on the coffee table by the old couch for people to read while they wait (they had a guy come in and offer thousands of dollars for the magazines which were in near mint condition - but they refused because the magazines were an integral part of the shop).
Anyhow, just a bit of fun...I have a wet shave and cut booked for next Friday when I will be in Toronto visiting family. This will be my second visit...it's becoming a bit of a pilgrimage for me when I go to Toronto.
Check out the gallery section as well...Brian is the guy with the handlebar moustache.
https://www.theniteowl.ca/galleryhttps://www.theniteowl.ca/see-the-shop
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