SHAVING GRACE BARBERS - A Cut Above the Rest

A stroll through Doylestown will quickly reveal one thing: When it comes to refining your look, there’s no shortage of places willing to serve you. It’s hard to walk down even one block without passing a few salons, many offering day spa treatments as well. And while women are well served, men are seemingly left out in the proverbial cold. That is, until now.

Opening later this month, Shaving Grace Barbers, located at 41 East State Street in the former Monkey Business, offers customers premium haircutting and grooming services with old-world style and charm. For owners Andy, Nick and Mike Sgarra, the business is a realization of a lifelong dream. Growing up in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, the Sgarras first learned to cut hair by practicing on each other in their basement. Their hobby soon became their livelihood, when they purchased their first neighborhood barbershop in 1995. Soon after, the idea of opening a boutique men’s spa slowly began slowly taking shape.

The Sgarra brothers expanded their operation to the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, and later, opened another location at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. With increased space, resources and visibility, the trio forged ahead, determined to put both their unique vision into form and practice. In 2003, after months of hard work and dutiful attention to detail, Shaving Grace Barbers opened its flagship shop in Exton, PA.

With Shaving Grace, the Sgarra brothers have created an oasis, where men can escape the pressures of the workday to enjoy some of the simple pleasures associated with “an exclusive gentleman’s barbering experience,” says Andy. The environment recalls a bygone era, when men would visit their neighborhood barbers on a regular – if not daily – basis to get a shave or a trim, swap stories and get advice on business and personal matters. “A man’s barber was like a trusted confidant,” adds Andy, who claims that the tradition of old-time tonsorial barbering diminished over the years as convenience came to be valued over technique. Hoping to imbue the art of barbering with some of its age-old mystique, Andy says he and his brothers hope to provide their customers with “hygienic benefits and a rejuvenation of mind and spirit as well.”

With their doors nearly ready to open, Doylestown was an easy choice. Andy attended Delaware Valley College as an undergraduate, so he had a good feel for the flavor of the town and the character of its people. “I always loved this area, so when a friend of mine told me about this space opening up, my brothers and I jumped on it,” he says.

Shaving Grace offers a wide variety of luxury spa services, including facials, manicures and pedicures, massages, hair coloring or “camouflaging” and waxing, all in addition to haircuts and shaves. One all-inclusive package, aptly named the “Whole Nine Yards,” consists of a haircut, shave, sports manicure and complimentary cigar. The Sgarras recently partnered with a compounding pharmacist in West Chester to introduce its own line of shaving products, revitalizing creams and aftershaves, which will all be available at the store.

In addition to a barbershop and spa, Shaving Grace also serves as a social space. Its swanky, club-like atmosphere is the perfect balance of relaxed and refined, making it an ideal place for groom’s parties and corporate events. Shaving Grace will also host frequent open houses, as well as cigar and wine-tasting parties. “We try to mix it up and really do as much as we can for our customers,” says Andy.

Go online at shavinggracebarbers.com