The Barbers of Downtown Marion, Ohio: An old trade downtown, still cutting
- 1 hour ago
- 8 min read
Walk a few blocks in any direction downtown and you'll pass a barber at work. Some run tight appointment books. Others leave the door open for whoever wanders in. A few of today's owners spent years in someone else's chair before putting their own name on a storefront.
The customers talk about fades and beard trims and a kid's first haircut. They also talk about the music, the conversation, the barber they've followed from one shop to the next, and the standing appointment they've kept for years.
The trade is old here, and it has never really left.
Downtown Marion was cutting hair a century ago
Barbering was already part of downtown Marion more than a hundred years ago, and it came with a room worth walking into.
George Henry Dutton ran a barbershop on the ground floor of the Hotel Marion on East Center Street around the turn of the 20th century. Dutton (1856–1926) was a lifelong Marion resident. His shop sat behind large street-facing windows that pulled in two kinds of trade — hotel guests passing through and townspeople who lived a few blocks away.
The haircut was only part of it. The shop worked as a crossroads. Men came in to argue local politics, trade news and sort out the day's business, then came back the next week to do it again. In a downtown built around a hotel, the barber's chair was a place the town talked to itself.
The trade reaches back further than Dutton, into the decades right after the Civil War — and into a part of Marion's story that took longer to get told.
In June 2023, Ohio State Marion history professor Margaret Sumner opened a three-part public lecture series on the history of Marion's Black citizens. The first lecture, delivered at the Harding Centre, was titled "A.P. Henderson and his Marion Barbershop: Building Black Networks in Early Ohio, 1865-1900." Sumner, an associate professor whose work traces the business and social networks of 19th-century Black Ohioans, built the talk around Adam P. Henderson and what his shop meant between 1865 and 1900.
The point of the research is that the barbershop was never only a barbershop.
In an era of open racial prejudice, Black-owned barbershops were among the few businesses where Black men could gather, organize and build economic footing on their own terms. According to Sumner's research, Henderson used his shop that way — training younger Black men in the trade, and mentoring them toward business ownership and civic leadership.
A century and a half later, the trade is still here. The chairs, the mirrors and the men behind them have turned over many times, but downtown Marion still keeps six of them working.
The Corner Barber Shop: continuity on North Main
At 171 N. Main St., between the railroad crossings, The Corner Barber Shop dates its history to 1960.
Chris Owens runs the shop today. An Ohio State Barber College graduate, Owens took over from the late Dick Pfahler and began operating his own version of the business in 2006.
Many customer reviews mention Owens by name.
One Facebook reviewer said he had been going to Owens for close to 20 years. Other customers describe returning for years. Parents bring their children. One mother recalled Owens working around her squirming 1-year-old while cutting the child's hair.
Music comes up frequently. Some customers mention what is playing in the shop. Others mention Owens' knowledge of music or conversations about it.
Conversation is another recurring part of the customer descriptions. Reviewers describe Owens as willing to talk with customers who want conversation while leaving others alone if they prefer a quiet haircut.
The shop also continues to provide the services associated with traditional barbering, including haircuts and shaves. Customers regularly describe the atmosphere as old-school or classic.
North Main has changed considerably since 1960. Businesses have opened, closed and moved along the corridor. Owens still cuts hair there for customers who have been returning to the shop for years.
Central Barbershop: a new generation on an old barbering block
Central Barbershop opened at 215 W. Center St. in 2023, immediately beside the former City Barber Shop. The business is co-owned by Shane Holcomb and Mickel "Mike" Fattig.
Holcomb moved to Marion as a child and later graduated from the Ohio State College of Barber Styling. His connection to downtown started much earlier than the business. As a teenager, he spent time around downtown merchants and got to know local shop owners.
Fattig came to Marion in 2001. Before barbering, he worked factory jobs, fast food and other jobs. He eventually entered the trade and moved into shop ownership with Holcomb.
Central combines an old-school barbershop look with contemporary barbering and online scheduling. Customers book individual barbers. Reviews frequently mention fades, beard work, precision and attention to detail.
The shop has also sold its own grooming products and Central-branded shirts. Inside, a bucket of suckers offers a much simpler amenity for customers and children.
Holcomb had already worked in Marion barbering before Central opened. A 2017 profile of Nathan's Barber Shop listed him among the barbers working there at the time.
His move from barber at Nathan's to co-owner of Central is one example of how closely connected the current shops can be.
Nathan's Barber Shop: growth, music and downtown participation
Nathan Riddle started with one chair. He opened his first shop on Greenwood Street in 2011. About six months later, Ian Cooper joined him.
Nathan's moved to Main Street in 2013. Ben Meade joined in 2015. The business expanded again in 2016, moving into the historic Huber Building on West Center Street before eventually relocating to its current address at 179 S. Main St.
The shop accumulated a large customer base along the way. Parents repeatedly mention bringing children, including for first haircuts. Customers often identify their barber by name. Beard trims, haircuts and repeat appointments appear throughout the reviews.
One customer described Nathan's as an "old-fashioned barbershop with a ZZ Top twist." Reviews mention music, joking between barbers and a busier social atmosphere than the quiet, one-chair shop model.
Riddle also brought live music into the business.
In 2017, MarionMade reported that he worked with Spencer Phelps of WDIF to stage several blues concerts inside the barbershop. Riddle served on the Downtown Marion, Inc. board at the time.
Nathan's also employed barbers who later moved into other businesses. Holcomb was among the four barbers working there when MarionMade profiled the shop in 2017. He later became a co-owner of Central.
Studio 29: a newer shop with a Marion name
Studio 29 opened at 134 S. State St. on June 3, 2025.
Co-owner Brodie Johns already had six years of shop ownership behind him through The Root Barbershop. His partner, Andres Villasenor, knew him first as a customer.
Villasenor told the Marion Star that Johns cut his hair when he was in middle school. Villasenor later earned his own barbering license, and the former customer eventually became Johns' business partner.
The name Studio 29 refers to Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States.
Johns grew up about a block from the Harding Home and remembered skating past it when he was young. He later used the number tied to Marion's best-known presidential connection in the name of the shop.
The owners also wanted customers to be able to spend time in the shop rather than simply wait for a chair. A pool table sits inside, and customers have mentioned using it while waiting.
Reviews frequently mention the barbers taking time to understand what customers want before beginning a cut. One mother said Villasenor helped her son decide what haircut would work when he was not sure what he wanted. Another customer praised Johns for taking time to understand his hair before cutting it.
Studio 29 opened with Johns, Villasenor, Dejaun Smith and Juan Ruiz, with plans at the time to add more barbers.
Although the shop itself opened in 2025, the barbers brought established customers with them. Their individual Booksy profiles already carried hundreds of reviews from work done before and after the State Street opening.
Binky's Barbershop and Salon Suites: new name on the door, same chair behind it
Binky's Barbershop and Salon Suites (formerly known as Platinum Plus Barbershop & Salon Suites) is located at 134 London St., Marion, OH.
Daveon McGary built it. McGary was born and raised in Marion and graduated from Harding High School in 2008. He studied music management at Hocking College and business management at Marion Technical College. He came to barbering in 2014 and bought the shop at 134 London St. in 2016, according to MarionMade.
His work sits inside a longer tradition. Marion Voices has documented McGary as a traditionally trained barber and heritage hair artist whose work serves the hair types, styles and needs of Marion's Black and Latinx communities. The barbering itself runs wide — fades, lineups, beard work, natural hair, contemporary designs. Customers tend to name the barber they see rather than just the shop, another sign that loyalty attaches to people.
The shop runs on appointments. Walk-ins have been an occasional thing, but a booked chair is the safer bet, and customers book individual barbers online through Booksy. It's cash only, no cards for services.
The work reaches past the chair, too. A 2024 MarionMade profile documented McGary and his staff giving free haircuts to students at Mary Ellen Withrow Academy and laid out his efforts to mentor young people. Customers notice. One parent's review singled out the shop for giving back. Others describe bringing their sons in again and again, some of them small children who could barely sit still for a cut.
The London Street address has held steady through all of it. The public name is the part that keeps moving.
At Jay's Old Town, the Regulars Do the Advertising
Jay's Old Town at 273 S. Prospect St. does not draw the online activity of downtown Marion's larger shops. Its appointment book tells a different story.
As of Aug. 28, 2026, Jay's carried a 4.6-star Google rating from 14 reviews and was booking roughly two weeks out. Customers describe returning to Jay Wood for years, often on a set schedule. One family said Wood cuts their boys' hair and that they look forward to seeing him every three weeks. Another longtime customer brought up the conversation as readily as the haircut.
One customer said the people there are "like family." And most of the customer reviews all point to satisfied customer, great customer service, and a stellar cut!
Wood's mother, Betty Wood-Evans, owned and operated Olde Towne Barber Shop for more than 30 years before her death in 2015. What's clear: barbering has been in the Wood family for decades. And Jay's customers are still booking their next chair weeks out.
More than six places to get a haircut
Barbering has been part of downtown Marion for more than a century and a half. It carried through the decades after the Civil War, when a chair meant a living and a shop meant a place to gather and organize. It carried through the turn of the century, when the barber's chair was where the town traded news as readily as it got a shave. It carries on today.
The trade passed down intact — one person in the chair, one behind it, and the standing a barber earns by doing the same careful work, week after week, for people who keep coming back.
That is what downtown Marion has kept. Six barbers are still keeping it.
