Paulie’s Barbershop

Hidden Main street gem, Paulie’s Barbershop, has a ’60s look and feel coupled with a modern, clean aesthetic that offers an uncomplicated mane management experience.  If you are looking to lock down a solid barber mainstay or for an easy walk-in clean up, look no further.

Paul Donnici, owner of Paulie’s Barbershop, is the kind of guy you could trust to watch your bike while you run to get a few groceries, offer an opinion on the latest movie to go see, or which baseball team to bet your weekend beer money on—oh, and make sense of your brambly hair with master topiary-like skills.

It was easy to set up a Wednesday morning appointment on Paulie’s beautifully designed website and even easier to find parking in the Little Mountain neighbourhood. When I spotted the shop tucked between a sushi lounge and a place called Grub, I could tell I was in for a distinctly Main Street experience. The kind where you find yourself participating in an entrepreneurial journey, a small business built on good ideas and even better people skills.

From the Space Odyssey posters (Paul went to film school in Montreal), to the handcrafted benches and backyard garden space, to the gnarly stuffed marlin hung up on the wall, you half expect to see a 1963 Volvo parked out front with some kids playing ‘jacks’ on the sidewalk. The final piece of the experience that made it all feel so downright ’60s-cozy was Paul’s Cairn terrier, Stella, who kept happy by the steady visits from neighbourhood dogs (with owners) doing the morning walk routine.

While I was busy soaking in the ease of the experience, I almost forgot I was getting my hair cut. The reveal was as expected: clean, crisp and left me feeling as handsome as ever. Paulie’s Barbershop embodies the tagline “best hood, feel good” to a tee.