A
jewel of history greets visitors entering the downtown district from its East
side, full of memories and life. McGuire's Barber Shop on Main Street and Louden
Avenue celebrates 60 years as a key part of the downtown Dunedin business community
next year.
McGuire’s still bears the name of its long-time owner, Mary McGuire's
- one of the first women barbers in Florida.
“I really want to keep it a Barber Shop with that funky, original, retro
kind of feel,” Lauren Lucas, owner of McGuire's for the past five years,
said.
“At our shop, we put the emphasis on quality. A lot of people can cut
hair, but not a lot of people can do it well. We take pride in our work,”
said Nathalie, the shop's barber. “We’ve got two great women working
in a great location."
Long time McGuire’s customers may remember Nathalie - she worked at the
Barber Shop previously when Mary McGuire owned it. Lauren is thrilled about
all that Nathalie brings to her shop. “She treats people great in here.
She’s a great barber. She worked here before - before I even owned it
and she came in and I mean, the girl, she’s just . . .” As she speaks,
Lauren's face shows her happiness at finding such a great addition to her business.
McGuire’s funky, retro feel is aided by its decor, featuring much of the
shop's original equipment. The shop's original barber pole now decorates its
interior. Old time touches and memorabilia tying it to earlier days adorn its
walls.
The shop, established in 1949 by Mr. Taylor, was handed down to his son, Frank,
Jr, then owned by Mary McGuire for 15 years. A variety of post cards and collectibles
displayed in antiique cabinets around the shop's back wall bring the good influence
of the past into its present, busy life. One shows a picture of its founder
and original owner, Frank Taylor. Another shows a picture of Mary McGuire when
she was just a young girl. "Featuring
a lady barber, Mary Everett (her maiden name)," the ad reads. It offers
late appointments for ladies and a Ladies Hair Spray and Oil treatment for $1.00
Another ad done by the Chamber of Commerce when the
shop was
established proclaims, “Congratulations, the downtown district is still
growing in the Easterly direction.” Another antique paper written by Lauren’s
Great Grandfather, also a barber, decorates a cabinet on the back wall.
The stylish look of original equipment not only ads to the ambience, it is
fully functional. The shop still gives hair cuts in original barber chairs,
in circa-50s-style “I Love Lucy” red vinyl. The original sinks and
mirrors are also still in use and the shop’s original cash register is
fully operatonal. “There were no dryers then.” Lauren points out.
Lauren has visited some of the most beautiful places to live in the world and
most recently lived in Portland, Oregon for many years, she chose to live and
work in Downtown Dunedin. “People come here from all over. People are
drawn to our charm,” she said. ‘It’s very charming without
being arrogant. I’ve been all over the world and I’ve lived all
over the world and I chose to come and work in a barber shop and to own a barber
shop in Dunedin. I think sometimes in life you just rely on your destiny and
you know.”
Lauren has more than 26 years of experience as a cosmetologist. Nathalie has
been a licensed barber for 12 years. “Nathalie is strictly a licensed
barber,” Lauren said. “She does straight-edged, full-lather facials
and flat tops.
The shop decor is old-fashioned, but the looks Lauren and Nathalie give their
clients are up-to-the-minute. “We do DAs, Flat Tops, longer Shaggy/Scooby-Do
type cuts. We do surfer cuts, businessmen’s cuts. women’s hair cuts.
The thing about it is, if you’re good, there really isn’t anything
you don’t do," Lauren explained.
“I really feel that it is a privilege and an honor to have this barber
shop,” she said. “I really love being a barber. The thing about
being a barber is that people trust me enough to let me affect how they look.”
“When a new person comes in, the first thing I do is to sit them down
and ask “What can I do for you? And at the end of the haircut I always
ask - ‘Is there anything that you see that I can change?’”
Lauren points out that both the decor and the service in the shop are "retro"
“We have old-time service,” she said. We are here to please you,
and that’s really, for us, that’s what it’s all about.”
Lauren says that her goal is to make her clients feel good as well as look good.
“I always joke with the guys, ‘I worry about the details so they
don’t have to,’" she said. "I always think people feel
good when they leave here and I’m thinking - ‘Good’. I’m
always thinking to myself - ‘I hope you got a little bit more than a haircut.'”
Lauren's client list has included many well-known local citizens.
“Mr. Schiller of Schiller University came here to get his hair done and
I cut his son’s hair and his grandson’s hair and it’s such
a privilege.”
“I always ask people, what would it be like, if everywhere you went, people
said, 'what can I do for you?' and then you got it? I try to incorporate my
personal philosophy about things into the way I treat people,” she said.
“You know, if you’re a waitress or a dentist or a farmer - you came
to work today - do it with some style. Have some passion. You’re spending
it here so try to make people feel good.”
She said, most of all, she thinks her clients value the barber shop as a refuge
where they can take a break and know that someone is there to focus on them.
“You come in here and you sit down and you look over and see Jackie Gleason
on the wall and all of the sudden, you realize that life isn’t really
so fast.”
“It used to be that people would come in here and sit down and they would
do this (sighs) and I used to think they were sad, then one day it really got
under my skin and I asked this man, ‘Sir, why did you sigh when you sat
down? and he answered “I can finally relax in here.”
