Update: I am updating this post a little over a year after first wrote it. Since writing this post, I have visited Hacienda Barbershop over a half dozen times. And my original joy in discovering this shop has only gotten validated many times over. It is a great place to socialize and get an awesome haircut. And I finally managed to get a couple of photos today while waiting for my cut. I cant recommend this place highly enough.
A good barbershop is a very important requirement for every man. In addition to getting a dependable and flattering cut on a predictable basis, it is also a man cave that fosters conversations from politics to movies to sports and what not. It makes one open up to the barber in a way that a shrink would be envious. If you are 30 years and older, you will understand what I am talking about.Growing up in India, I used a total of 2 barbershops in the 22 years I lived there. I know of many who used one less than me for a longer period of time. The comforting confines of a friendly barbershop is something that needs to be experienced to be believed. Every time I go back home, I make it a point to visit my
local barber once for a cut and a lot more times for a casual chat over a cup of steaming tea from the next door bakery.Today, I literally stumbled into a barbershop in my neighborhood and can't stop thinking of my serendipity.
Hacienda Barbershop in San Jose, CA is going to be my barbershop for the foreseeable future. And I have been there only once in my life. I didn't read Yelp reviews, nor google the place. Instead I saw 4 guys chatting with their customers as they were leisurely giving them a cut and something drew me in.I waited for my turn and in the process got into gentle conversations with the barbers and the customers. By the time my turn arrived, I was comfortable with the place, the person about to cut my hair and had eased into my chair. A few simple words on my expectations and soon Clem, my barber started cutting away. It was a slow and patient cut, not driven by the compulsion of getting to the next waiting customer but to service the current one as well as possible. I was treated to a now rare shave around the ear and an even rarer hair wash at the same place, courtesy an old style barber's chair that went fully flat.I was treated to a gentleman's cut at a commoner's price of $16. I couldn't have been happier. I walked out smiling and swore to myself- no more barbershop hunting for a long time to come.If you are in San Jose and would like to get a good cut, I can't recommend
Hacienda Barbers highly enough.
