Astoria barbershop owners adapt to serve
community during COVID-19 pandemic
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Well Kept Barbershop’s
co-owners Luis Concha and
Ruben Molina breathed a sigh
of relief when they found out
they could reopen their Astoria
shop, almost three months
after COVID-19 hit the city.
The two Queens natives
decided to close up their sleek
shop, located at 30-11 32nd St.,
as soon as Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced schools would
close, indefinitely, starting
March 16.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo didn’t
mandate barbershops and
other businesses to close until
March 22 as part of the New
York PAUSE program — but
Concha, 29, and Molina, 33, are
both fathers and husbands.
“I remember telling my
guys, ‘If they close the schools,
we’re going to close the shop,’
because most of us here are
fathers,” Concha recalled. “Obviously
coming to work was going
to be tough when kids are
home from school. And if they
close the schools it means it’s
gotten out of hand or there’s
something to worry about.”
Concha, who is of Colombian
descent, born and raised
in Jackson Heights, said they
thought the lockdown would
only last two weeks anyway.
But as two weeks became
months of staying home, doing
their part to slow the spread of
the virus by keeping the shop
closed and taking care of their
families, bills began to pile up.
“I was scared,” Concha said,
adding that in March they began
to apply for several federal,
state and city programs to aid
small businesses.
They didn’t qualify for the
Paycheck Protection Program,
and didn’t hear back from most
of their applications, but they
were able to secure a small
grant from the Small Business
Administration (SBA).
That grant covered their bills
through April and May.
Then came June, and they
were back to square one, with
no funds to pay that month’s bill
as the state remained on lockdown.
Luckily, they received
another SBA loan in mid-June
that allowed them to pay some
of those bills, while negotiating
with their landlord.
“That loan saved the shop,”
Molina said.
Well Kept Barbershop first
opened up in 2018, and have
since gained a sustainable following
thanks to their combination
of skilled barbers and
top-notch customer service.
On both their Google and
GenBook pages, they’ve maintained
a five-star rating.
Concha and Molina became
partners after years of following
each other’s work on social
media and developing a real
life friendship.
While they both take clients,
Concha takes care of the
administrative aspect of the
business and Molina, who is
also of Colombian descent and
grew up in Jackson Heights,
takes care of the shop’s look.
Both are award-winning
barbers with substantial followers
on Instagram.
“The community has really
embraced us,” Concha said,
speaking of their clientele and
fellow business owners.
Even before they were given
the OK from the state to reopen
at the end of June, Molina began
re-designing their space to
comply with social distancing
guidelines and procuring personal
protective equipment.
When you enter the shop
while wearing your mask, Jennifer
Gualotuna, Molina’s wife,
greets you and asks to take
your temperature with a nocontact
thermometer. Gualotuna
TIMESLEDGER | 22 QNS.COM | AUG. 14-20, 2020
sits at a front desk, which
wasn’t there before COVID-19,
with hand sanitizer (that
smells uncommonly great) and
extra masks.
Gualotuna explained that
she decided to help out at the
shop once they reopened, given
that her own family business
has been out of work since
March.
“I’m here to support them,”
she said. “Right now, nobody
has enough, we’re all trying to
pay debts and we understand
it’s a huge toll.”
On the shop’s second level,
plexiglass sheets, with their
bow-tie logo on each sheet,
separates the barbers’ chairs
and stations while they wear
their masks and face shields
— although Concha admitted
the face shield isn’t all that
comfortable and has a bit of a
glare.
They ensure the barber
chair, clippers and other tools
are sanitized between each
client. They also installed two
air purifiers to filter the air all
day.T
he state guidelines require
shops to maintain 50
percent capacity, which means
instead of having eight barbers
like they used to, Well Kept has
four barbers a day.
They can’t offer beard
grooming or anything related
to people’s faces, which means
their earning potential per
customer is cut down by $15 to
$20.Regardless, they said the
first few weeks were the busiest
they’ve ever been, and have
kept busy since.
There have been some clients
who don’t want to wear
masks, but they comply when
the barbers explain they don’t
want to get fined.
The state can fine and even
shut them down if they don’t
comply with COVID-19 guidelines.
They’re also all mandated
to take COVID tests every
two weeks.
But the fear of having to
close again if COVID-19 flares
up remains.
Concha, who has two kids,
recalled having to apply for
unemployment, which he received
almost seven weeks after
he applied in April. Being
that they’re self-employed, he
received the minimum payment.
In addition to that, his
wife lost her job after being
furloughed.
“I started to tap into my savings,”
he said. “And when that
stimulus check came in April,
it was gone as soon as it did. It
wasn’t enough.”
Molina was able to take
some house calls by setting
up a makeshift station in his
backyard in Jackson Heights.
Although it was tough, Molina
chose to look at the bright side.
“The silver lining was
spending time with my son and
my family,” Molina said.
Keeping their business alive
is their top priority, though, so
they’re meticulously following
COVID guidelines.
“For us, this isn’t a job. This
is what we do. This is our lives,”
Concha said. “When you come
here, you ground yourself in
that station for 10 hours a day,
and you know you’re going to
see 10 different clients and be
in contact with lots of people,
but these are the people who
make your life go by. People
come see you to look good, to
feel good.”
Before the pandemic hit,
Concha and Molina always
looked for ways to give back to
the community. In the past two
years, they’ve hosted Christmas
toy drives to take to the
Variety Boys and Girls Club.
When they first opened,
they had a back-to-school special
offering kids a free haircut.
On their one-year anniversary
of opening, they had a
celebration with a DJ, food and
purchased 50 bookbags with
school supplies to give to the
kids walking by the shop.
“It was a big event. We had
about 10 bags left over and
were hoping to do it again this
year,” Concha said. “The only
thing I’m worried about now is
if we can actually do it.”
The business owners are
hoping for the best and paying
attention to the news every
day. In the meantime, loyal clients
keep coming back.
Fernando Colato, 22, has
been getting his hair cut from
Molina since he was 16 years
old. He drove all the way from
Long Island to get his first
hair cut in three months a few
weeks after they reopened.
Colato, an essential worker
who commutes to Manhattan,
recalled a bad hair cut experience
in which a barber cut his
hair line too far back. He said
he left the shop in the middle of
the cut and was waking home,
trying to fight back tears. But
on the way he ran into Molina,
who offered to fix him up.
“I look up to him as a man
and as a person,” Colato said.
“I’m excited to be back. This is
like my second home.”
Luis Concha, co-owner of Well Kept Barbershop in Astoria. Photo by Angélica Acevedo
/QNS.COM
