High-school friends Ty Petway, Phillip Hewett and Michael McAfee, all 42 years old and married with children, decided a few years ago to start a business with a nostalgic theme.
They settled on creating and opening a series of Old School Barber Shops that cater to men, women and children and they chose locations in neighborhoods that do the same.
They opened the first store April 15, 2010, in Ponte Vedra and the second opened a year ago, Oct. 15, 2011, in Avondale.
The grand opening for the third is scheduled Saturday in the Mandarin/Julington Creek area and a fourth is planned in Jacksonville Beach. They’re considering branching into Atlanta, too, and possibly franchising.
Hewett said the local communities embraced the concept. “We are a new-school barbershop with an old-school feel,” he said.
The three looked around before choosing the theme.
“We are childhood friends and we were looking at different areas of industry to go into together,” said Hewett, the operating owner of the “Old School Barber Shoppe” companies. Each store is operated as a separate limited liability company.
State corporate records list the three men, along with Joseph Cronk, as the managing members.
Choosing the theme just grew.
Petway said while they initially had the concept, they didn’t immediately have the name. “The whole time, we just called it ‘old school.’ It kind of grew on itself,” he said.
“We wanted an old-school feel and a step back in time,” Hewett said. “What about an old-school barber shop? We grabbed it.”
The three focused on creating a family experience.
Hewett said he runs the day-to-day operations, while Petway, McAfee and Cronk focus on architecture, design, marketing, advertising and other areas.
Cronk is an owner in Cronk Duch Architecture, the consulting architect for the stores. They are decorated in the themes of their neighborhoods and feature an old-time vibe.
Petway is Thomas Petway IV and is chairman and CEO of the former Zurich Insurance Services Inc., now known as US Assure. He has been affiliated with the company for more than 18 years.
McAfee is with RE/MAX Specialists.
State corporate records show the three share other business interests, too.
At Old School Barber Shops, Hewett said he takes over after the others open the stores.
Hewett works with the stylists and barbers, who are independent contractors, and handles the supplies and other operating duties.
The shops offer haircuts for men, women and children; shaves; and color. Haircuts are $16 and $12 for children under the age of 12.
The hours are 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Saturday in Avondale and Ponte Vedra and seven days a week in Julington Creek. Being near the Metro Diner, they realized they could be available to customers visiting for Sunday breakfast and lunch.
They also said they are involved in youth sports teams and sponsorships.
The stores are 1,500 to 1,800 square feet in size and cost $125,000 to $175,000 to build out.
The Avondale store, at 3541 St. Johns Ave., was constructed in an older retail store and they restored one wall to its original brick.
The Shops at Julington Creek store, at 12795 San Jose Blvd., is in a newer center, so the renovation costs were different.
The Ponte Vedra store is at 880 A1A N. in the Ponte Vedra Pointe Shopping Center.
They haven’t announced the Jacksonville Beach location, which they expect to open in six to eight months.
Saturday’s grand opening at the San Jose Boulevard shop will feature free haircuts. The owners will match the tips collected and all the money will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.
“The economy has been good for us,” Hewett said. “Nothing is recession-proof,” he said, but they figure people need shaves and haircuts.
Federal courthouse bids extended
The deadline for bids for renovations to the old federal courthouse was extended to 2 p.m. Oct. 31. Bids were due next Wednesday, but eligible bidders have been given an extension.
The construction cost is anticipated to be about $25 million. Pending City Council legislation amends a prior ordinance to appropriate $30 million — $28 million for construction and a $2 million contingency reserve — within the Better Jacksonville Plan’s Unified Courthouse Project budget to the “Courthouse – Old Federal Renovation” project for the renovation of the structure into the State Attorney’s office.
Eight firms remain eligible to bid on the project. The scope of work calls for providing all materials, equipment and labor necessary to renovate the structure.
Palmer Catholic Academy dedicates campus
Supporters and leaders recently dedicated Palmer Catholic Academy’s new campus, which was built by Jacksonville-based Sauer Inc.
Palmer Catholic Academy is about a mile west of Florida A1A along County Road 210 in Ponte Vedra Beach. Palmer Catholic Academy of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish was founded in 1997 and serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
The first phase of the project included a second-floor addition to an existing building that added two classrooms, a lunch room and a teacher’s lounge.
The second phase included the parish gymnasium and community center, which is a two-story, multipurpose building with basketball and volleyball courts, bleachers, concessions, locker rooms, a stage, music and youth rooms, meeting rooms and covered walkways.
PepsiCo executive to keynote JaxPort conference
John Phillips, senior vice president of Customer Supply Chain and Logistics for PepsiCo Inc., is scheduled as the keynote speaker at the JAXPORT 2013 Logistics & Intermodal Conference.
He is scheduled to speak March 19 at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort and discuss 12 global megatrends that will impact the consumer value chain — how products and services reach consumers.
According to the Jacksonville Port Authority, Phillips has been with PepsiCo for more than 25 years, joining as a route salesman with Frito-Lay and then working in sales and operations roles.
PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., is the world’s second largest food and beverage business with more than $65 billion in revenues.
PepsiCo’s main businesses include Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola, as well as brands that include Mountain Dew, Doritos, Tostitos and others.
The conference is scheduled March 18-20 and is limited to 350 registrants.
The JPA said the event is held once every two years and is designed for senior executives in logistics and transportation who register from throughout the United States.
For more information, visit jaxportconference.com or call (904) 357-3047.
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