Duero's Continues to Make the Cut

From its red, white and blue horizontal-striped pole to its tall, blue jars of comb and scissor disinfectant, Duero’s Custom Cut Barbers is a throwback to a bygone era. A neighborhood barbershop, with friendly conversation and familiar faces, where customers can wait their turn in the chair by shooting pool in a side room on a 125-year-old billiards table.

And for nearly 25 years Dueros has brushed off the competition as deftly as owner Bill Duero sweeps away the clippings from the shoulders of one of the thousands of customers he’s tended to over the past several decades. So well, in fact, that the off-white, two-story, brick building on the corner of East Henry Clay Street and North Woodruff Avenue is now the longest tenured barbershop in the village.

“When we opened here in December of 1986, there were three or four other barbers in town, and now it’s just us and a few franchises and stylists,” said Bill, whose first shop was located on Port Washington Road in Glendale. 

With nearly a century’s worth of haircutting experience between he and his longtime assistant, Bob Holz, Bill credits the shop’s longevity to know-how, strict attention to detail and stellar customer service.

“We care about how our customers look and pay attention to what they want from a haircut,” said Bill, who logged more than 1,200 hours of training during his four-year stint in barber school. “I’ve had customers who’ve tried Cost Cutters and they’ve said they won’t go back there. They tell me we’re more thorough and we don’t rush them out the door.”

Duero’s success is perhaps more impressive given the lack of promotional muscle Bill puts into the business. The shop has no dedicated website and neither advertises nor offers coupons to attract new customers. Instead, he relies on word of mouth and his reputation. Good standing in the community that has allowed him, he says, to, in some cases, call three generations of families customers.

“We’ve given discounts over the years, but then we figured that our service was good enough that we didn’t need to give it away,” said Bill. “Other barbers give such big discounts that they become too busy, the quality of their work suffers and they do a disservice to customers because they have to quickly turn over their chairs.

“We’ve charged the same reasonable rates for the past six years: $16 for adults, $14 for children and $13 for retirees. Keeping fixed prices has allowed us to remain competitive.”

At an age when most people have long stopped working, the 76-year-old Bill, who began his professional barber career in 1960, said he has no plans to retire. Bill’s only short-term plans are to cut back on his store hours and indulge his passions for gardening, golfing and cross country skiing.

“Money’s never really been my thing, I just want to enjoy life,” said Bill, who lives with his wife, Diane, in his shop’s upstairs apartment. “As long as we can break even or turn a little profit, that’s good enough.

“What I like best is the friendly people and conversation. Catching up on the village gossip with guys whose hair I’ve been cutting for what seems like forever. I’d miss that if I quit. I really do it mostly as a hobby now.” 

Despite cutting every hairstyle created in the last 50 years and some – like the buzz cut, that have experienced comebacks – Bill says he’s continuously challenged by his work/hobby. Daily tests that he says keep his skills sharp and hold his interest.

“I approach every haircut with an artistic view, so anything that creates a little challenge is fun,” said Bill, who considered becoming a commercial artist before enrolling in barber school. “It makes me feel worthwhile knowing that my customers feel good with how I cut their hair.”