The '$10 No-Frills Haircut' Exists At Just a Cut

Elyse Banks, of Franklin, a huge football fan and pretty darn good hair cutter, arrived at Just A Cut Family Barber Shop in Scotch Plains just in time to shear my locks.

"Half way over the ears?" she asked, and she was right on target. The hair behind my neck had started to flip. And even though my wife claimed to like long hair on me, she did emphasize "to an extent." So I paid a visit to Just a Cut, the second barbershop owned by Chris Digrazia (the original is located in North Branch).

The price to trim away my almost-hippie look was just $10. And yes, you read that correctly.

"We're just small business people trying to give an Ordinary Joe a good haircut," Digrazia said. "There are no gimmicks."

Digrazia's sister, Linda Semonish, runs the Scotch Plains location, which opened this past August 23. "This is something Chris has always wanted to do," she said.

Digrazia obtained his cosmetology license in California in 1985, a few years after he had decided to load a trailer and head west. He started cutting hair in the Golden State, but returned to the east coast in 1991. Two years later, he founded Just a Cut in North Branch.

For five years, he both ran the business and cut hair on his own. But as word of the barbershop and its low-cost, no-frills haircuts spread, the number of clients increased. Today, Digrazia employs three women, and his two barbershops offer haircuts for men, women and children, as well as hot towel shaves for an additional $10. The longest wait-time, according to Digrazia? Fifteen minutes, max.

"With the economy the way it is, we knew this was the proper price to charge" Semonish said. And it has apparently paid-off. "We have had a lot of return customers, and we're really excited about that," Semonish said.

The barbershop is located right off Route 22 and a short distance from Route 78. 

"I found this spot in 2009," Digrazia said. "It's something I wanted to do – expand. It was just inside of me that when I get old I can say I tried it. And I figured if I could do it in North Branch, I could do it here."

The shop is small, yet homey. It features elements common to many barbershops – photos of the Rat Pack line one wall – and others that are more distinctive. For example, a shining white Harley Davidson motorcycle sits in the corner of the shop, and Digrazia often allows children to sit and be photographed atop the bike.

"I meet some great people in this business. I learn so much from people from every walk of life," Digrazia said, "from people down on their luck to CEOs and VPs."

Just a Cut Family Barber Shop is located at 2395 Mountain Avenue in Scotch Plains. Call 908-288-7339.