Name of Business:
Address: 103 Boston Tpke.
Owner: Nick Perrone; his daughter, Debbie Perrone, serves as manager.
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Years in business: Nick has been in business for 54 years. Debbie has been working there for five years.
When was the business started: The business was started in 1946 and bought by Nick's father, Joe Perrone, in 1957.
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Business Mentor: Debbie said her grandfather, Joe, is the business mentor.
Quote to Live By: The staff likes to say, "Over a million cuts and still counting."
Reside: Worcester
Family: Nick is married to his wife Frances and has three daughters, Debbie, Sandy and Nicole.
Like best about owning/running this business: Debbie says the best part of managing this business is the people. Most of the customers are men, but children also come to the barber shop as well as some women.
Like least: While Debbie couldn't think of anything she doesn't like about the business, one of the staff, barber Omar Rodriguez, pointed out that it is driven by the economy. Customers who used to come for haircuts every week are now waiting longer in between cuts, he said.
Where you see yourself five years from now: Debbie said she sees herself at the barber shop in five years.
Facebook/Twitter: To visit the Facebook page, click here. Perrone's doesn't have a Twitter account, yet.
Favorite book/movie/song: According to Debbie and Omar, Nick loves big band music and even played guitar in a band with another barber in town, Ken Jordan, who owns .
Advice for someone new to the business: "Just take your time," says Debbie. "It takes time to build a clientele. Just take your time, it'll come."
Besides Shrewsbury Patch, of course, is the place to get the latest news in town.
"We know everything about what goes on in town before everybody else does," said Omar Rodriguez, who has been a barber there for nine years. "People come here to get the news."
Manager Debbie Perrone agrees. She said customers ask questions about the Lake Quinsigamond Bridge project, who is the best doctor in town, or what new restaurant will come into the area.
"People come in here to find out all kinds of things," Perrone said.
It's been like that for years. Rodriguez said the barber shop is now seeing its fourth and fifth generations of fathers and sons coming in as customers.
The long history of the shop can be seen through pictures on the walls as well as an old soda machine in the corner, which Rodriguez said is from the 1950s or 1960s. He said some of the older customers have told him they remember getting soda out of it.
"I just like the small town atmosphere in a big town," Rodriguez said of the business.
