Barber shop opens at Hartsfield-Jackson
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's first barber shop and salon has opened in the domestic terminal.
The Barber Shop Atlanta opened Friday in the domestic terminal, with an entrance from the atrium and another entrance on the Terminal North side of the airport next to TGI Fridays.
The hair cuttery is run by the owner of the Barber Shop Atlanta at North DeKalb Mall, Roosevelt Gilbert.
The airport location, open 5:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. daily, has 12 seats and a VIP suite and takes walk-in customers. Prices start at $30 for a basic adult haircut followed by hot towel treatment, $60 for a ladies cut and blow dry, and $40 for an executive facial, among other services.
The idea for an airport barber shop has percolated for more than a decade. Plans back in 2009 for a Jakki Colours salon in the atrium never came through, and the airport began seeking a new company to open a barber shop in 2013.
It took three rounds of contracting for the airport to eventually choose Gilbert’s company for the contract.
The contract for the airport barber shop location was finally approved in 2015.
But according to Gilbert, getting the location opened involved complicated construction with technical challenges to overcome due to the unique site on a working airport, as well as a requirement for a restroom inside the shop that increased the cost and complexity of the project. Construction of the shop could only be done at night, and underground facilities beneath the airport can make construction more complicated.
“I’m just glad to be open,” Gilbert said. “We had to go through a lot.”
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As business team lead, Kelly Yamanouchi edits and writes business stories. She graduated from Harvard and has a master's degree from Northwestern.
