Stevens Bros. Barber Co. opens in Sturgis
STURGIS – Stevens Bros. Barber Co. has opened in downtown Sturgis.
The new location for owner Oakley Stevens is at 103 E. Chicago Road.
For the previous three years, Stevens had shared space with Jackie Roberts at Jaclyn Nicole Salon. He outgrew that arrangement with the addition of fellow barbers, he said.
Jett Janowski was the first to join Stevens, but has moved away. Stevens recently hired his brother Parker Stevens and friend Alejandro Cancino.
When space at 103 E. Chicago became available when Inspired Finds moved two doors down, Stevens jumped at the opportunity.
It took a short while, but with the help of artist Heidi Wolfe, Stevens gave the setting a classic barber shop feel, with a new twist. It isn't your grandpa’s barber shop, he said.
In a way, opening the shop is like a dream come true for Stevens.
He decided he wanted to become a barber when he was a senior at Sturgis High School (class of 2015). He designed a business logo on a free app while in school at West Michigan College of Barbering and Beauty in Kalamazoo.
Stevens was inspired to try the venture by his wife, Annalissa Cholometes, who had worked as a cosmetologist prior to the birth of the couple’s twins, son Beckham and daughter Haven. They are expecting another son.
Stevens has family ties to barbering and cosmetology as well. The family also has close-knit relationships between brothers, hence the name Stevens Bros. Barber Co.
Stevens said his business either was going to work or not, and he is glad it has succeeded.
“I think something that’s really cool about the barber shop vibe is that Saturday mornings we have so many fathers and sons coming in,” he said. “I’ve been doing this downtown here for three years now, so I’ve seen kids go from babies to having full-blown conversations with these toddlers. I think it’s going to be really cool over the course of the next 50 years just to watch them grow up in a community. I hope this exact location stays a staple for a long time.”
Contact reporter Michelle Patrick at mpatrick@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Stevens Bros. Barber Co. opens in downtown Sturgis
