Ottawa barbers, stylists eager to resume haircuts on Wednesday

By Jason White

Barbers and stylists are ready to tame a lot of shaggy pandemic hairdos when Ontario enters the next phase of its economic reopening plan.

King's Own Barbershop on Gladstone Avenue, in Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood, started up just a few months before the pandemic and because of lockdowns and restrictions, it has been closed longer than it's been open.

“It's been pretty rough on me. I lost two staff,” said Chris Lord, the shop's founder. “Now, I'm still standing, so I'm one of the lucky ones, I feel.”

Lord said government grants and benefits helped him stay afloat during government-ordered closures, but those payments are less than what he would normally earn.

Fortunately, Lord said, his clients have stuck with him; he's fully booked for more than a week's worth of 10-hour days. During that time, Lord expects to fix a lot of bad home haircuts.

“That's happened a few times, especially with the other lockdowns,” Lord said. “I walk in and some of these guys, someone's butchered their hair — the girlfriend special, the wife special — and I'm like, 'All right, we're going to fix you up, man.'”

Step 2 of Ontario's reopening, which takes effect Wednesday, June 30, also allows higher retail capacity limits and allows outdoor dining limits to increase from four to six people per table.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today