New All City Barber Co. on Southside is unisex, but caters to men, offers shaves

Hunter Watts cuts Will Galbreth's hair at All City Barber Co. on West 20th Street on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.  The barber shop was opened by 23-year-old Kristin Gonzalez.
Hunter Watts cuts Will Galbreth's hair at All City Barber Co. on West 20th Street on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The barber shop was opened by 23-year-old Kristin Gonzalez.

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See prices and hours for All City Barber Co. online at allcitybarberco.com

About Kristin Gonzalez

Age: 23Job: Owner of All City Barber Co.Career: A naive of Sacramento, California, Gonzalez came to Chattanooga three years ago, got married, worked at other salons and opened he own salon earlier this year.

Step into the newest barbershop in Chattanooga's hip Southside neighborhood and you can get a haircut, a shave with a straight razor and a complimentary beer or wine from the owner - who's only two years over the legal drinking age.

Kristin Gonzalez, 23, just opened the unisex All City Barber Co. at 20 W. 20th Street next to Sterchi Construction just off Market Street.

"People are shocked at my age when they find out I am the owner of my company," she says.

Gonzalez was 19 when she left her hometown of Sacramento, California, and moved to Chattanooga three years ago with her sister, who fell in love with a guy from Cleveland, Tennessee, to whom she's now married.

After Gonzalez settled here, she worked at two high-end hair salons, Aspen Salon in North Chattanooga and Level 10 Salon in Warehouse Row.

Gonzalez saved her money, and was able to spend some $30,000 in cash to outfit her new barber shop, including buying modern barber chairs with a vintage look.

"I just live like a college kid," says Gonzalez, explaining how she was able to save that much.

Gonzalez is bringing her existing female and male clients along to her new unisex salon. But she's betting there's a market in Chattanooga for men who want an upscale barbershop experience - something that she says Chattanooga lacks.

"I just thought, 'Where do they get to have a luxury experience the same that women do?'"

Gonzalez hired her first employee, Hunter Watts, who cut hair at White Oak Barber Shop, a business that's so popular that its website has webcams at its two locations in Red Bank and near Hamilton Place Mall so customers can try to time their visits when the barber shops are empty.

"I left White Oak to come and work for her," says Watts, who takes appointments - which he says beats waiting for a haircut or shave.

Prices at All City Barber Co. range from at $27 for a men's haircut to $25 for a shave to $51 for both.

Both Watts and Gonzalez think that young professionals and other men will be willing to pay those prices.

"They don't even blink at that price, because he's worth it," Gonzalez says of Watts.

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