Domenic Borrelli says he wants to bring back a little bit of old school to downtown Barrie.
Borrelli is the owner of Domenic's Barbershop, located at 190 Dunlop St. E., which offers customers a bit of nostalgia with hot towel shaves and decor that features photos of The Beatles, Elvis and even a vintage Pac-Man arcade game.
Borrelli began what he calls his “barbering journey” back in 2015 after leaving his hometown of Sault Ste Marie and moving to Barrie.
"I got my start at Carlo's Barbershop, here in Barrie. That's where I learned the tricks of the trade," he says.
After initially moving back to his hometown during the pandemic — where he owned his barbershop for more than two years — Borrelli is back in Barrie and opened up his new barbershop in August, just down the road from where he first got his start.
Borrelli tells BarrieToday he was drawn back to the city after seeing how it’s grown over the years, adding it’s “really nice to see all of the young entrepreneurs” coming to the area.
He spent about a month and a half renovating the shop, adding it was important to him to take his time and personalize it so that it would reflect him and his old-school style.
Littered with other memorabilia consisting of Led Zeppelin, KISS, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen and a variety of old-time sports ephemera, Borrelli says the shop truly reflects his “old soul” and is aimed at “bringing back the good ol' days.”
“I've always been intrigued by the traditional craft of barbering. The art of a straight razor shave, the skill of clipper over comb and scissor over comb … was fascinating to me from when I was a kid and my dad would take me to the local Italian barbershop,” says the 35-year-old, adding he still collects records, old sports cards and plays on his original Nintendo video-game system.
He also has the hot towels in the towel warmer and is no stranger to a hot lather.
"I keep the straight razor shave alive," Borrelli says.
