There are not many barber shops left in the country. At one time, if a man wanted to get a haircut, he had to go to a barbershop. Salon’s were off limits. And that was probably a good thing. I found Champion’s Barber Shop in downtown Waco. Even though it had “Salon” in the name, it was definitely a barber shop for men.

The door wasn’t that much, but I loved the lighting. You can see the one picture of that lighting below that I took one morning before they opened. The problem is that when they opened, they turned on the fluorescent lights and it wasn’t quite as appealing.

But it was still worth the extra trip back downtown when they were open. I met the manager Cameron, pictured below, and he gave me small bit of history, especially about Robert. As you can see in the pictures, this was a barber shop & shoe shine. I asked if they still offered shoe shines, but Cameron said the man who did it, Robert, died a few years ago. They kept chair there as a memorial to him. You can see one photo of a photo of Robert holding up a pair of shoes.

That was the sad aspect of the story. Cameron told me that Robert had worked in the air port for years shining shoes, and ended up in Waco at the barber shop. They do have a guy that comes around and shines shoes when there is a need, but it’s not the same.

Overall, if my wife didn’t cut my hair for free, I would go here. I liked the shop.

I also found a picture of the Duke, which was a great idea on their part. Sadly, most customers they serve today, probably don’t know who the Duke was.

This is part of Dan’s Thursday Doors Challenge.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2022.