By Salem Chicago News Staff
Walk into Ellison’s Barbershop on any given afternoon and you’ll find more than fresh fades — you’ll find a neighborhood meeting spot that’s outlasted three recessions and two ownership changes on the block around it.
Owner Curtis Ellison has cut hair at the same South Side storefront for three decades. Regulars range from teenagers getting their first real haircut to men who’ve been coming since Ellison himself was an apprentice.
“This chair has heard more problems solved than half the offices downtown,” Ellison said, laughing. “Guys come in stressed, they leave lighter. That’s not nothing.”
Beyond haircuts, Ellison has quietly mentored a rotating group of young barbers, several of whom have gone on to open their own shops elsewhere in the city. He also hosts informal financial literacy talks on slow afternoons, bringing in a local credit union representative a few times a year.
“I always tell the young guys, learn the trade, but learn the business too,” Ellison said. “That’s how you actually build something that lasts.”
Ellison said he has no plans to retire anytime soon. “Where would all these guys get their hair cut?”
