Insider Article
Stylin' and profilin'
Author: Troy L. Smith, Metromix
Photo Credit:Rich Paprocki
December 2009
Three guys and three salons
Rebecca Webster, co-owner of The Men’s Room Barber Lounge & Spa, admits it. “Guys don’t really come in and asks for a nose wax. It’s something we’ll mention while we’re cutting or shampooing your hair.”
Getting those unsightly nose hairs waxed and trimmed will run you $10, fellas. But at a place like The Men’s Room, you’re not just paying for a nose wax, haircut, massage, pedicure or any other service offered. You’re paying for the atmosphere. The Men’s Room is just one of several local salon/spas where men can go to be pampered — no girls allowed, other than the beautiful women who work there.
On a recent Saturday night, we recruited three local residents to check out for a night out on the town, visiting three spots for men: The Men’s Room Barber Lounge & Spa and The Men’s Club at Shear Ego, both higher-end establishments, and Lady Jane’s Haircuts for Men, a budget alternative. (All three places knew that the guys were there on behalf of insider.) Then we had each guy rate his experiences. But first, here’s the lowdown on the salons.(BELOW Pictured, from left, our salon-going guinea pigs, Mike Chatfield, 25, of Brighton; Andrew Trout, 25, of Rochester; and Peter Schreiber, 25, of Webster.)
The Men’s Room Barber Lounge & Spa, 2320 Monroe Ave., Brighton
Webster, 29, and her husband, Craig, 34, bought the The Men’s Room in August 2006. The spa/salon is 2,000 square feet on three floors. The first floor is the hair salon, and the second and third floors are for manicures, pedicures and massage therapy.
The place was designed with men in mind. There are leather couches, flat screen televisions, complimentary alcoholic beverages (Yellow Tail wine and a small selection of beers) and up to 10 female employees to wait on you hand and foot.
A basic haircut, called the Gentleman’s Cut & Finish, starts at $30, with a manicures start at $25, and pedicures start at $50. Even at those prices, Webster says the spa hasn’t really been affected by the recession.
“I think there have been some people who’ve gone to other places to try something cheaper, but they come back,” she says. “If anything, some customers have stretched out how often they’re getting services done.”
Business has been good enough that Webster plans to move the spa next door to a 4,500-square-foot facility next door at 2326 Monroe Ave. (formerly Berman’s Fur Fashions). She hopes to add a locker room with showers and double the number of spa rooms from two to four.
What the guys said about the salon
What they said about the decor
Trout: 8
Schreiber: 8
Trout: 9 — “It was definitely my kind of style, bright and warm. You could tell everything was of high quality. It was easy to see there was a lot of thought, detail and craft put into the interior decoration.”
What they said about the prices
Chatfield: 9
Schreiber: 8
Chatfield: 9 — “Reasonably priced for what I perceive to be high-end offerings.”
What the guys said about customer service
Chatfield: 10
Trout: 9
Schreiber: 10 — “I felt most comfortable there. I felt like I belonged.”
What the guys said about the overall experience
Schreiber: 10
Trout: 10
“I would go there before a big date on Valentine’s Day, (a girlfriend’s) birthday or meeting her parents to be sure I looked sharp.”
Chatfield: 10 — “With Dundee’s beer on tap, you can’t go wrong. And there is something to be said for the fact that the actual technician that did my manicure was, in fact, the owner of the establishment. That was really cool.”
