Biz Buzz Monday: New Manchester barbershop keeping traditions alive

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Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from the tri-state area. In addition to this update from Manchester, Iowa, we will share other developments in Tuesday’s edition.

A new barbershop recently opened in Manchester.

Traditions Barbershop opened June 26 at 113 E. Main St., across from Castle Theatre. The space previously was the home of The Bread Basket before the restaurant moved to 101 S. Franklin St.

“It’s been nuts,” said owner Josh Smith. “I think (on opening day) I barely had enough time to eat. Everybody in Manchester is so great.”

Smith started cutting hair before he left for military training in South Carolina, when he was thinking of a future career.

“I bought my first hair clippers and gave myself a haircut, which turned out awful,” he said. “But I took the clippers down to South Carolina with me to train, and I gave my first two haircuts down in the barracks.”

Two months after his military training ended, Smith went to barber school. He graduated in May after a little over a year of schooling.

“I like having a place for men,” he said. “I like to make guys feel good about themselves. When you get a haircut, you feel good.”

Smith is currently the only barber working in the shop, though he has another chair for someone else in the future. Smith said he currently is operating primarily by appointment, but he would like to accept walk-ins, too.

Smith said he offers both classic and more modern cuts, such as fades and tapers, as well as work on beards. He also offers a straight-razor shave to the back of the neck after every service.

“(Traditions Barbershop) just sounded right,” he said of the name. “It’s kind of an old-school look. I want to keep the older traditions of barbering alive.”

Traditions Barbershop is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The barbershop can be reached at 319-327-3273, and more information can be found on Facebook.