This Florida combo business will cut your hair and send you rolling down the street

An oil-lube joint with an Italian restaurant under the same roof? A bakery sharing space with a shoe store? Yes, they’ve been a thing in South Florida.

Now, there’s barber shop that doubles as a skateboard store in Bradenton, a combo that makes sense for the owners and their customers.

But first, while waiting for your haircut, you might want to test your hand-eye coordination on one of two classic arcade video games — Ms. Pac-Man or The Simpsons — in the waiting room. Then, after your hair is done, check out the racks of new skateboards, replacement parts and more on display.

Oxford Barbershop in downtown Bradenton recently celebrated its second anniversary on Old Main Street.

“Expressing yourself and being open about who you are in your environment brings a connection to your customers,” said Emily Urdiales, who cuts hair at the shop, along with her husband, Chris Urdiales, and shop manager Brandy Fogg. “It’s like walking into a home, rather than a business. You can come to work and be yourself. It’s a second home.”

Brandon Sommers, owner of Classic Ink, a tattoo shop around the corner, opened the barbershop two years ago after the previous tenant, The Connection Cafe, closed during the pandemic.

Sommers met with Brandy Fogg to brainstorm what kind of barbershop they should open and settled on the name “Oxford” as representative of an English barbershop. Fogg had previously worked at corporate barbershops and wanted something different, something with a community feel.

For the first year, Oxford was a barbershop and salon only, cutting and coloring hair for men and women.

But it was a bit eccentric from the beginning. At Fogg’s station, she has a “Welcome Back Kotter” era velvet painting of John Travolta, and there’s a Peewee Herman doll off to one side. At Chris Urdiales’ chair, there’s an image or two of Johnny Depp. Emily Urdiales says that her husband does indeed have a bit of a Johnny Depp vibe.

The first customer to get a haircut at the Oxford Barbershop was Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown, Fogg said.

Customers come from all walks of life and all ages.

Fogg’s favorite customer is a 4-year-old who always arrives carrying his favorite dinosaur toy. Their topic of conversation? Dinosaurs, of course.

The skateboard shop opened in Oxford’s second year when Chris and Emily Urdiales moved to town. Chris had a skateboard shop in San Antonio, Texas, and thought that with the skateboard park at the Bradenton Riverwalk nearby, a skate shop might have a ready customer base.

And sure enough, skaters, teens into middle age, come for the boards, the parts and other supplies, Chris said.

They also come for the arcade games.

“The Simpsons game came from my house. The kids had outgrown it,” Fogg said. “I bought the Ms. Pac-Man game from my sister’s shop. Everyone plays them, from the grownups to the kids.”

Even though Oxford is different, the parts work together well and attract a wide slice of the community, Emily Urdiales said.

The shop has grown by word of mouth, and by Old Main Street businesses being supportive of one another, she said.

“I feel like downtown is a gem,” Emily said, “and is evolving a lot.”

What to know about Oxford Barbershop

Location: 1207 Third Ave. W., Bradenton

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Sundays, the barbershop is closed, but the skate shop is open from noon to 5 p.m. On Mondays, both the barbershop and skateboard shop are closed.

Online: theoxfordbarbershop.com/.

Phone: For appointments, call 941-251-5602.