Jacksonville native Pete Helow opened Jacksonville’s first Roosters Men’s Grooming Center a year ago. It is a Regis Corp. brand and the store was one of the top 10 among Roosters stores for its first 10 months in business. The high-end men’s barbershop operates at 2000 Atlantic Blvd. at Hendricks Avenue in San Marco. Helow is looking for a second site, possibly at the Beaches or Durbin Park. His ventures have included commercial printing, a design firm, an ad agency and a photography studio.
I was looking to buy a business that would allow me the freedom to not be tied to it. I know nothing about cutting hair, so I selected a great manager who happened to have worked in a Roosters in Texas. It exceeded my expectations and it’s going very well. When people come in the door, the first thing they notice is the atmosphere. It’s relaxing. I’m averaging 70 percent repeat customers monthly.
The ideal part of San Marco is the fact that it’s a neighborhood community. To have the visibility I have on San Marco Square has been a boon. We ask people, “How did you find us?” Most have said, “I’ve been driving by you and thought I’d stop in.”
I grew up on the south side of town. I went to Bishop Kenny High School and I now live in Springfield. San Marco is familiar to me. I used to come as a child to the theater on Saturday mornings when they had cartoons for children and the big Tootsie Rolls. San Marco had the bowling alley and I came to the drugstore for ice cream sundaes.
I decided I really do want to own my own business again and thought maybe at my age, I was 64, that a franchise is the answer. It was the right decision to make. I’m an entrepreneur and I still run the business. I don’t cut hair. You’ll see me at the register. I check people in, I take phone calls and make appointments. That’s how I can assist until I can hire a full-time host or hostess.
The similarities in all my businesses has been the highest quality. That’s what this business is about and that’s what attracted me to this business. It could have been haircutting, it could have been a pizza place, it could have been a music-lesson place, as long as it was the best of the best.
I’m a musician. I’m trained on piano and keyboards, and I’m taking guitar lessons and trying to expand my horizons. I used to be in two bands locally but with my schedule, it just isn’t fair to get in a group. I find musicians to jam with and we go to people’s homes and play. I sit at the piano or guitar every day at home.
I’ve loved Springfield. I got there in ’06 before the (real estate) crash. When ’08 hit, it plateaued but we’ve got a resurgence with businesses and homes being built and renovated.
I have three grown daughters. The oldest, Katie, is a singer-songwriter and just opened a yoga studio in Murray Hill. My middle daughter, Audrey, got married in January and lives in Portland, Oregon, and has a flower farm and is an equine therapist. My youngest daughter, Meredith, gravitated to Portland and is getting ready to open a social media marketing firm. And they’re all musicians.
I just love what I do. I don’t consider this work. I love coming in here. I’m a people person and this is a great business for me.