COLUMBIA — A Five Points institution, Carolina Barber Shop, will close its doors after more than eight decades of offering classic men's haircuts as redevelopment plans for the space it houses ramp up.
The building, 2021 Devine St., was purchased by Cason Development Group in June 2021, according to Richland County property records. As the development group prepares to renovate the space to be an upcoming restaurant, the longtime barbershop has been served a 90-day notice to vacate, owner Rick Boone confirmed to The Post and Courier.
The business, which caters its traditional styles to mostly college students, will have to leave the space by July, Boone said. He plans to relocate elsewhere but hopes to stay near the city's major universities.
"When we move, we want somewhere that's going to feel like home," Boone said.
The space next to the barbershop, which once held Sushi Yoshi before it closed, will become a restaurant, and the plan is to expand the restaurant into the barbershop's current space, Boone said.
The developer for the building, Frank Cason, confirmed a restaurant is going in the space, but declined to share the name or details.
The move for the barbershop comes as a handful of other longtime businesses have shuttered their doors — many in similar fashion. In January, Rockaway Athletic Club, a signless neighborhood watering hole in Rosewood, shut down after the same development group bought the building.
In November 2022, the beloved dive bar across from the S.C. Statehouse, The Whig, shut down as development plans for a hotel in the same building ramped up.
'This has become home:' Carolina Barbershop, a staple in Five Points
Carolina Barber Shop opened its doors in 1937 in what's become the college nightlife district long before Five Points was known for its rowdy, late-night scene. At the time, it was tucked between an ice cream shop and a formal wear business.
The Carolina Barber Shop in 1992.
For more than 50 years, Kenneth Watts owned the shop and offered traditional cuts leaning on only basic scissors and clippers. He steered clear of fancy styling and curling irons, a 1989 feature story from The State newspaper noted.
Over its time in Five Points, the shop saw the evolution of the neighborhood.
"Years ago ... we didn't have near as many bars as today. There were more smaller businesses, more gift shops," Watts told The State in 1989.
Through decades of daytime shoppers and boisterous college students experiencing their first taste of freedom, the simple barbershop remained. As institutions like Yesterdays Restaurant & Tavern closed its doors and as business owners and state legislators wrestled with what the neighborhood's identity should be, the barbershop remained a quiet constant.
When Watts died in 2010, his wife, Jean, took over the business. But she'd never cut hair, so she mostly left it up to the barbers who worked there already, Boone explained.
Boone took over ownership in 2020 after working at the shop since 2017. The Midlands native feared that when Jean wanted to sell the business, things would change if someone else took over.
"I didn't want it to close down — this has become home," Boone said.
Reflecting on that, Boone said now having to move out of the space will be emotional. The barbershop isn't too far from 100 years in the space. He likened the move to losing a family member.
"But we're trying to stay positive and look at the big picture," Boone said, noting that the chance to be in a bigger space might allow for expansion in the future.
Inside the Carolina Barber Shop.
The barbershop still uses traditional methods — "yes, we use straight razors and hot lather," the business' website reads. It's part of what's drawn college students for generations, Boone said.
"We've had people come in and say 'This is my son, he's going to school here ... I came to school here and I've told him this is where he has to get his hair cut while he's in school,'" Boone said.
Cason, whose group purchased the building that holds the three storefronts, grew up getting his hair cut at the shop. His grandfather would take him because that's where he also got his hair cut, Cason said.
"It's certainly an institution in Five Points," Cason said. But he believes the new tenant will be a good fit for the area and said he hopes to help Boone find a new location for the barbershop.
