How did a small barber shop Edgewater cultivate a followg Chigo’s gay kkster scene? Patrons say down to acceptance.
Contents:
- THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
- THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
Gayborhood. It’s the kd of place where olr men wh heavy Italian accents talk about soccer next to young gay men vered tattoos. “I’d say ’s about 60 percent gay, 20 percent hipster-straight, 15 percent middle-aged straight men, and 5 percent transgenr or genr fluid, ” said Mch Koonce, who has worked at the barbershop for three years and is known for his beard, which go down to his cht.
Tl clu the ual Rollg Stone, Natnal Geographic, and Esquire, but also gay magaz like Out and Advote alongsi a llectn of children’s books featurg Pokemon and Cur Gee. “What gay man n go to any other barbershop and talk about sports?
I almost want to say kda tak you out of the norm — out of the gay liftyle. Changg muny On nearby shelv, there are beard products that are labeled BEARd balm, a nod to gay men who often sport a beard. But now the neighborhood is home to more gays, lbians, bisexuals, and transgenr people than any other area Chigo, cludg the well-known LGBTQ enclave of Boystown, acrdg to a recent report by real-tate webse Tlia.
THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985
“It was a gay iendly barbershop even before they had gay employe, ” Wood said. Wood manag the gay and lbian bar Big Chicks the nearby Uptown neighborhood, and he said he often ns to bar patrons gettg haircuts at Father and Son. He said he has such a close relatnship wh the owners that he troduced them to Koonce, who is one of the shop’s gay barbers.
The other gay barber at Father and Son is Mick Santiago, 53, who has been workg the shop sce Febary and has been a client of the shop for the last 23 years. Beg a gay-owned shop, the safety and fort our LGBTQIA+ fay are top prry. "They say that I don't look gay, but as soon as I start talkg, they n tell.