Main Street Barber to Open Next Week

When Art's Barber Shop owner Jim Mayer said he was closing the shop after 54 years, Oswego residents were more than just a little disappointed.

And while Mayer has retired and Art's did close its doors, long-time barber Ron Bennett will re-open a traditional barber shop at 73 Main Street on Sept. 10.

This week, Bennett could be found inside the shop repainting and getting ready for the shop opening.

"Today, 10 people have stopped by saying, 'we're so glad there's going to be a real barber here," Bennett said on Sept. 3.

Bennett has been a barber since the 1960s. He was in the Army at the time and was in the ammunition room. Since barber kits had straight razors, they were stored there. And he found himself helping out fellow soldiers who needed emergency trims.

"I started trimming hair," he said. "We had two or three barbers in the unit."
While they helped teach Bennett the basics, when he got out of the Army, he enrolled in Barber College of Aurora in 1968. And he has not looked back since.

Since 1985, he has been working out of Northgate Barbers in Aurora. Deciding to open his own shop in Oswego was bittersweet.

"It was hard because I will miss a lot of the people," he said.

Main Street Barber will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays. Haircuts will cost $14 and will include shaving around the ears.