Seal Beach’s Main Street has been graced with a barbershop since 1961.
For many, the sight of the candy cane colors of the Main Street Barbershop has been an icon that has helped define the city’s Old Town neighborhood as “Mayberry By The Sea.”
For 30 of the years it’s been in business the barber who goes by the name Ernie DeBarbour has worked in the shop.
To many of his loyal customers, he is equal parts comedian and magician.
Despite a stream of jokes that flow from his lips he is able to work hair cutting magic on every head he’s had the pleasure to know.
For the last few years he has split some of the work load with another friendly barber known to customers as “The Dutch.”
Together they have been like a comedy team that also happens to give quick, but expert service while keeping a smile on the faces of their customers, before and after their hair is cut.
A couple of months ago, the Main Street Barbershop was suddenly closed with the only explanation being a little sign that promised the shop would reopen in a few weeks.
It took about seven weeks for the barbershop to actually reopen. When it did, the barbershop had a new owner and a new look.
However, although it had changed, there was still the promise that the barbershop would remain an icon of the quaint tone of the seaside city’s Main Street, a place where people can seem to step back in time to a place where, if everybody doesn’t exactly know your name, they know somebody who does.
Fortunately, fans of the barbershop said, the business was sold to someone who appreciates what the shop means to the town and to the loyal customers.
Mike Schafer, 37, grew up in Los Angeles.
He said he was drawn to barbering when he got involved with a family he admired who owned a shop of their own.
“I just really liked their work ethic and the lifestyle of being a barber,” Schafer said.
He later moved to Huntington Beach, where he still resides.
Along the way he discovered the charm of Seal Beach’s Main Street Barbershop and the magic that Ernie had created in the business.
When he heard that the business might be for sale, he said, he jumped at the chance, but with one stipulation.
Ernie and The Dutch had to remain part of the package, at least for a significant length of time.
“Ernie is a fixture in this town,” Schafer said.
Ernie said although he was wanting to slow down after so many years in the business, he also was not ready to cut the cord and let his beloved barbershop go completely. Therefore, the Barbershop, at 317 1/2 Main Street will still have Ernie cutting hair Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The Dutch as well is expected to maintain some hours.
In the meantime, the shop has taken on a new, modern look that Ernie has said he has fallen in love with. Schafer and his family poured in a healthy investment to bring the shop into the modern era.
Like many hair salons that are know for serving wine to their customers, the Main Street Barbershop now offers two kinds of beer on tap. In addition, Schafer bought a reproduction of an old style Coca-Cola machine stocked with free soda and water. It’s a mixture of the best of the old and the new.
As Schafer has remodeled, he has tried to keep a sense of vintage barbering. For example, he has installed an exquisite antique barber chair that is on loan from Seal Beach businessman Bob Griffith.
“Bob has been great and helpful and so have many of the other merchants who have made me feel welcome,” Schafer said.
So far, Schafer said, the regular customers have been coming back and giving the changes a positive review.
However, most say, it’s important that Ernie is still part of the business.
And so it was that as Ernie cut regular customer Rick Rousselle’s hair on Saturday morning, the customer expressed his pleasure at seeing the mix of the old and the new. He said he was especially glad to see Ernie back, cutting hair. “He’s the best,” said Rousselle, a Seal Beach resident. “I’m glad he’s going to be here for a while longer.”
