Greg's Barbershop of Mendota: Just Down the Road

Greg's Barbershop owner Greg Barnholdt moved his business earlier this winter from its longtime location at River Bluffs Center one mile down the road to 1310 Highway 13 in Mendota.

Why? Expansion – and retirement – beckon.

“The new space is four times the size of the old space,” said Barnholdt. “It comes with a small office, which I can rent out, and it allows me to take on another hair stylist.”

Regular client Wes Cutter Sr. described the new space next to the post office as “palatial” compared to the former Lilydale location. “I keep giving him a hard time," said Cutter Sr. “He’s going to run a muck with all this extra space. You know what happens with idle hands, but what happens with idle space? I don’t know!”

Barnholdt’s plan is for the new stylist to be an independent contractor, not an employee, who will bring in his or her own clientele and rent a barber’s chair. “I want to at least double the number of people coming in here,” he said, “and then in four or five years, I can sell the building to the new person and retire.”

Barnholdt doesn’t have any aspirations to expand his own client base, in other words. “I’m happy to maintain the business I have,” he said.

Many of his clients have been patronizing the business for decades.

“We’ve talked more than just haircuts over the years,” said client Tom Pertz, who’s been going to Greg’s Barbershop for over 30 years. When Barnholdt needed help finishing the new location on time to open, Pertz came over to help paint.

To avoid losing any customers, Barnholdt began telling them about the move in September. Thus far, he hasn’t lost anyone. “It’s just a mile down the road. I figured that if I was going to lose customers, it wasn’t going to be because of the new location.”