Photo courtesy of the Barber Bar on Instagram.
Stylists work with clients at the Barber Bar. The Barber Bar offers a unique haircut experience by offering clients a choice of beverages from the bar.
Raul Chavez is reimagining the barbershop. The 29-year-old Hoover High School graduate recently debuted Barber Bar by Fade Parlor in Inverness Village, with the aim of updating the barbershop experience for the modern age.
The Barber Bar by Fade Parlor experience is, first and foremost, a bar — sort of. The interior resembles a cigar lounge and has music playing. Once settled into the barber chair, each customer is offered one complimentary drink from the shop’s collection of beers, whiskeys and bourbons.
Chavez created the concept because he wanted to fill what he sees as an underserved market, while adding a new twist to the mundane task of getting a haircut. He wants the Barber Bar to be a place where clients can mellow out and take a break from stresses in their lives.
“There’s definitely a shortage of good barbershops in the Birmingham area. I noticed that from the very beginning and, as time passed, I eventually talked myself into capitalizing on that opportunity,” Chavez said.
Chavez opened his first Fade Parlor in downtown Birmingham, followed by a location in the Green Springs area of Homewood. He quickly opened and closed a location in Vestavia Hills before opening the Inverness Village barbershop in October 2023.
“When I was developing my own concept, I thought it would be super cool to have a barbershop that has a man cave feel to it, where guys can come in and be themselves and talk about whatever they wanted to talk about and have a drink if they want,” Chavez said.
Chavez took over a space formerly occupied by another shop using the Barber Bar name. After that business closed, Chavez said some of their former customers started coming into his other Fade Parlor locations and talking about the defunct barbershop.
Sensing an opportunity, Chavez snapped up the space and expanded his business’s footprint. He also decided to keep Barber Bar as part of the name and incorporate it into the shop’s concept.
Chavez was introduced to barbering by his mother, who owned a hair salon. In his teens and lacking direction, Chavez began working in his mother’s shop despite having no real interest in pursuing barbering as a career.
“It wasn’t something that I really wanted to pursue. My mom kind of talked me into it, but it ended up being a huge blessing, and it just kind of snowballed into what it is now,” he said.
Over time, Chavez learned the trade, grew to enjoy the business and even took on management duties, all while looking for ways to improve and implement his own ideas for the shop.
His mother’s salon was a unisex shop with a largely female clientele, and Chavez realized there was a lack of places in Birmingham for a man to get a quality haircut or a shave in a masculine environment. Allowing customers to have a beer at the shop, for instance, was a notion that didn’t go over well with the shop’s owner, i.e. Mom.
“It was a different environment. It was kind of uptight, honestly,” Chavez said. “She was never fond of having a beer at the shop or anything like that.”
Now, as he expands his business, including a planned Fade Parlor location in Avondale, Chavez is determined to transform the barbershop from a necessity into an event.
“I always tell my staff and everybody that surrounds me we’re not selling haircuts. If people want to just get a haircut, they can go to Sports Clips, Great Clips, and pay $15. But that’s not what we’re about,” Chavez said. “We’re selling a whole experience.”
Barber Bar by Fade Parlor is open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. The business is located at 4700 U.S. 280, Suite 11.
Visit fadeparlor.com for more information.
