By Janet Arnold, November 2014
Don’t call Keep it Cut a barbershop. “We are a men’s hair salon,” co-owner Jacob Meltzer says proudly. Seems there is another barbershop in the complex at 28th Street and Indian School Road, and a distinction has to be drawn to keep everyone happy. “We don’t do some of the straight razor grooming they do, but then they don’t have the atmosphere and attitude that we do!”
That relaxed atmosphere and attitude exemplify and complement the unique concept behind the salon. It’s a membership-based salon; that is, you pay one monthly fee and can come in as often as you like with no appointments needed. Become a member and you may never again hear: “Hey, looks like you got a haircut!” With this system, you can stop by weekly if you’d like just to have the back of the neck or sideburn areas cleaned up or simply to maintain your style. Your hair can always look kempt, with none of those telltale sunburn lines.
The salon itself has a contemporary look and feel. “One thing I insisted upon, is that we have an interior designer,” says Jacob. “We wanted wood and metal and open and airy.” That gives the shop a warm and inviting, yet with a cool, hip edge, feel. The large custom glass garage door opens in the cooler weather months to allow both breezes and a feeling of welcoming the community. Jacob says his business partner and boyhood friend, Josh Thorsvik, “hand selects all the indie, hip-hop music to ensure that it includes positive messages, generally clean language, plus respect for women.”
Jeramy Rogne stopped by for a trim one day. He noticed Keep it Cut while driving his daughter to school and thought he’d give it a try. Now Jeramy is a member who likes a close- cropped cut and tries to stop by every two weeks when possible. “It’s such a good deal, it’s hard to beat,” he says enthusiastically. He acknowledges Rocio, the stylist who is putting the finishing touches on his trim, and says he appreciates the relaxed atmosphere and skilled stylists. “The staff is excellent; they always treat me well. And at these prices, I might as well stay clean cut while I can.”
Jacob admits he knew nothing about men’s hair salons when he and Josh first came up with the idea. “We were looking at membership-based businesses. The models seemed to be working in a number of different arenas, so we thought about what we personally would be interested in. That’s when we came up with the idea of regular haircuts.” Jacob confides their first joint business idea was a less-than- stellar one for them. “We thought we should start out with a franchise,” he says, somewhat sheepishly. “We started a Liberty Tax Service, with me still in Illinois and Josh here. Afraid it was quite a flop!”
But things are different with Keep it Cut. “In just one year we’re at the place it took us five years to get to with the previous business,” he reports. “We’ve seen good steady growth every month and have been steadily ahead of projections. We’re confident we’ve hit upon a concept that people want.”
In fact, the two young men are currently looking for funds to open additional shops around the Valley. “We regularly have folks come in saying they wish there were one of these on their side of town,” Jacob says. The salon also provides one-time services for those “with commitment issues,” as their website states. Jacob and Josh have been friends since the fourth grade, growing up in the small town of Medical Lake, WA, near Spokane. Jacob is the youngest of four children in a family that also includes his Jewish father and Christian mother. “Since Medical Lake was a town of only 4,000, there wasn’t a Jewish community there. So what we did Jewishly was mostly within the family.”
But when he was 25, Jacob learned about the Birthright trip opportunity, whereby a young (18- to 26-year-old) Jewish adult can participate in a free trip to Israel. It was on this trip that Jacob became keenly aware of his heritage. “It was amazing to see everyone Jewish and with Hebrew being spoken everywhere. It was an immersion experience that was phenomenal. You really gain a new respect for history and time; these traditions have been going on for thousands of years.” He was also impressed with the young soldiers who accompanied their bus group for much of the trip. “They were only 20, but they were at least as mature as those of us 24- to 26-year-olds from the States. They’d lived very different types of lives.” Most of the other participants were from Los Angeles, and Jacob says he has maintained contact and has visited with some of them over the past six years.
Even though Jacob has lived in the Valley for about eight years, he does miss the forests and mountains of Washington. “I was so glad to discover Sedona and the other northern areas,” he says. “I get out of town as often as possible during the summer.” He enjoys camping, hiking and riding mountain bikes. He also ran a marathon a couple of years ago. “I had been in a motorcycle accident and was pretty severely injured. I needed to get myself back into shape, so I began the marathon training and actually completed it!” (He no longer rides motorcycles though!)For now he is content to enjoy life in Phoenix – especially in the winter months – and work on building the Keep it Cut brand. He looks forward to having 10 salons throughout the Valley using the membership model to keep men looking their best! With Hanukkah coming up, Jacob reminded us that the perfect gift for the man who has everything is a membership to Keep it Cut! Contact them for gift certificate information.
Keep it Cut
[email protected] keepitcut.com 2824 E Indian School Road (Sprouts Center) Phoenix, AZ 85016, 623-396-5337
