Owner Jami Thompson opened his first location, Bellbrook Barber Co., in 2020 just before the pandemic, with the intent to bring a traditional barbershop to Bellbrook since they hadn’t had one for several years, he said. After working as a corrections officer, and then for a barbershop in Middletown, Thompson decided to open his own shop closer to home.
“It wasn’t about money. It was about passion for me,” he said.
After the pandemic, business at the Bellbrook location ramped up, and the small shop on Franklin Street was starting to run out of room, Thompson said. After a brief search, they “fell in love” with the location on Main Street in Xenia.
“My kids attend Xenia Community Schools, so my barbers and I often attend sporting events and after school programs,” Thompson said. “Usually in our Bellbrook Barber Co. attire, so a huge part of us couldn’t wait to wear shirts that say and represent Xenia Barber Co.”
Thompson said the goal for him and his team is to carry on the traditions associated with the art of barbering. The shop is cash-only and takes walk-ins rather than appointments, and it aims to give patrons the “nostalgic experience that they or those before them would have had.”
“That kind of separates us from most barbershops,” he said. “We don’t take credit cards, we don’t do the apps. We keep the old-school nostalgic feel, that’s important to me.”
Winter is typically slower for most barbershops, and on average the business serves between 15-30 clients a day. During the spring, summer or warmer months, the shop is much busier, Thompson said.
Traditional haircuts cost $25, and the shop offers a senior discount at $15. A straight razor shave is $30.
“I’ve had a lot of people that have never had a hot shave before, and they get one and they’re addicted,” he added.
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