Plaza Barber Shop a community mainstay for 65 years

BRUNSWICK — Across three generations, Plaza Barber Shop has made Brunswick residents feel at home during every haircut. The establishment celebrates its 65th anniversary today as Brunswick's oldest business and has operated out of Brunswick Plaza at 1480 Pearl Road since its doors first opened. "There's still people who come in here who were here at the beginning, on the first day," said owner Vicki Michalske. "We can't have the business without people and I'm just overwhelmed by the support this city and these residents have shown us time after time. I have so much admiration for all of them. We wouldn't be here without them, definitely not for 65 years." An old school approach dominates most aspects of business at the shop. Paper records are used for daily service documentation and the same cash register has sat on the counter for 65 years, despite taking some damage as time has passed. "Someone broke in and tried to pry the cash register open, probably around 2012," Michalske said. "They probably tried to pick it up but it's pretty heavy. We just never had a reason to get rid of it and we didn't want to let that be the reason we got rid of it, so there it is. It's staying where it is and that's that." Plaza Barber Shop has also always operated without a business phone. "For a tiny bit, I had a phone set up but it wasn't listed and was only for when my kids were in school and could contact me in an emergency," Michalske said. "People have always just kept coming in and we never really saw the point in having the phone. We don't take appointments. Maybe it's holding us back, but we still seem to be doing OK." Don Michalske, Vicki's father, founded the business and passed ownership to her in 1990. He died in 2014 after getting to watch his daughter thrive in that leadership capacity. Vicki's daughter, Ashlea Hildebrand, now works in the shop and said her grandfather would have never expected his business to still be going strong 65 years later. "People come in and tell me I'm the third generation from my family to cut their hair," said Hildebrand. "They all knew my grandpa. It feels good to hear that every single time. My grandpa told me he never thought this simple job he picked would go this far and provide for his children and grandchildren. My grandma told me he was walking past a barbershop and said, 'I want a job like that.' That's how he got started. "He got to live to see all of this last and thrive. I'll always be thankful for that." An extensive collection of Three Stooges memorabilia covers the shop's walls, an aesthetic gradually added over the years by Vicki. "I've just always been a big fan," she said. "It started out with the posters and tin signs and it's just never stopped and it's kept escalating. A customer even made me a case to display my golf club covers. I just got an 8 mm film, all kinds of stuff. It's just become part of the shop and people ask about it all the time." Plaza Barber Shop is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every weekday aside from Wednesday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. "We want to get a fourth generation of this family working in here," said Vicki. "I know that would make my dad so proud, that he started something that's allowed all of us to be closer and get to see each other more often. People always say, 'I remember your dad.' I always want to tell them he remembered them too." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.