Wooten Barber Shop, mainstay on the Drag, to close to make way for new student housing

The old school decor of the Wooten Barber Shop remains mostly unchanged from when it opened in 1964, despite the urban sprawl of the Drag where it is located.

With burnt orange leather chairs and an eye-catching, red-and-blue barber’s pole, University of Texas students and longtime locals alike can be seen chatting with one another inside the shop — but Wooten will cease operations by June 15.

“I've done this for over 60 years,” said James Nelson, barber and owner of Wooten Barber Shop.

Nelson has been cutting hair at Wooten for several decades and said he often has former students come back with their sons for haircuts. He said the connections made during haircuts keep people returning to Wooten.

“I consider it a conversation, and a haircut (just) happens,” Nelson said regarding the job.

In July 2018, American Campus Communities, a student housing developer that was bought last month by Blackstone, purchased a block on Guadalupe Street that includes the barber shop for a new development.

According to the Texas State Historical Association, the block was previously a real estate investment of the Wooten family and home to the Goodall Wooten Dormitory.

Wooten Barber Shop was named after Goodall Wooten, son of Thomas D. Wooten — one of the original members of the UT System Board of Regents. The Hotel Ella, a boutique hotel located in West Campus, was the Wooten family home in the early 1900s.

American Campus Communities plans to renovate the entire block by building new student housing with retail shops on the ground floor. Alante Salon and Teji’s Indian are the only other active businesses on the block that may have to shut down.

“We do not have definitive redevelopment plans for the site at this time and have worked with the remaining retail tenants to temporarily extend their leases,” said Chuck Carroll, vice president of development for American Campus Communities. “One thing we can confirm is that we are still committed to preserving the iconic ‘Jeremiah the Innocent’ mural by Daniel Johnston in partnership with the Austin Creative Alliance.”

When American Campus Communities bought the strip on the Drag in 2018, businesses residing there had to finish their existing leases before renovations could begin. Since the expiration of its old lease, Nelson said Wooten has been operating on a month-to-month lease. American Campus Communities has made verbal agreements to lease the shop a location on the same block after renovations are completed, but no actual contract or lease renewal offer has been made, he said.

Alante Salon owner Sanya Kim said she is still waiting on American Campus Communities to follow up on its verbal agreement, but she looks forward to the building renovations.

“I have the chance to come back,” Kim said. “I (will) wait … if they give (the lease) to me.”

Though Nelson said he has been informed of Wooten’s deadline to move out, Kim said Alante Salon has not been given notice of a definitive date.

Nelson said he is planning on transferring the ownership to another Wooten employee and is searching for an alternative location to keep the shop alive.

“We’d like to have the Wooten, or ‘The Woo,’ continue,” Nelson said. “It’s bittersweet in that it’s not ending in the way I would like to.”

This story was originally published by The Daily Texan, the independent newspaper produced by University of Texas students.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Wooten Barber Shop on the drag near University of Texas to close