Reply to Chesterbrook Barbershop Mclean forced out

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[quote=Anonymous]More detail and an update:

Chesterbrook barbershop was an ORIGINAL TENANT of the Chesterbrook Shopping Center when it opened in 1967. The founder hired a Vietnamese immigrant as a stylist, taught her english, and eventually handed the business to her when he retired. She continued to build the business and now has 5 stylists.

They are a disappearing model -- a family business that doesn't seek to get rich or sell to private equity. They live a modest life, pay their bills, serve their community, try to keep prices low, and had plans to run the business at least until they were all eligible for Social Security and Medicare.

Most of their business is haircuts for men, children, and retirees. They serve vans full of seniors from the nearby retirement home. During the pandemic, they masked up, stayed open, and survived.

Late last year, Chesterbrook Shopping Center leased their space to another barbershop, The Bearded Goat, that charges more than double their prices. Chesterbrook Barbershop was not notified and found out about this from one of their customers who showed them the filing!

When the owner reached out to the landlord, they confirmed that they had indeed made plans to kick them out, effective April 30. They thanked them for their 59 years as a tenant but cited 2 reasons: The Bearded Goat is more upscale, and The Bearded Goat delivers more than double the sales per square foot, so the shopping center felt they could charge a much higher rent.

They wished them luck in finding a new location, but told them that they couldn't call themselves Chesterbrook Barbershop anymore!

The owners are not sophisticated business people. I told them that was bullshit -- that they definitely did not have to give up the name.

UPDATE: There is a store called TennisTopia in the little Chesterbrook Plaza strip, next to the Excel Service Station on Old Dominion. They are planning to shrink that store and sublease 1/2 the space to Chesterbrook Barbershop. There is some risk and pressure to build the new wall and meet the end-of-April deadline, but that will be their new location. When they move, they plan to open 7 days a week (instead of six) because that's the only way they think they'll be able to afford the new rent. They remain committed to low prices.[/quote]

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