The days of a humble lather, shave and hair clip for men have been reinvigorated over the years, but now Albury’s newest barber shop promises to raise the bar even further.
The transformation of II (Two) Fingers Bar and Barber Shop is starting to reveal itself, with a coffee window open for business, with more services to come soon.
The new offering was prompted by the success of existing men’s barber shop Dude Hut, owned by Chris and Martina Maney.
“Dude Hut is going well, but we wanted to offer something else for our customers, more of a premium service for barbering and shaves,” Chris said.
“We also wanted to establish a café, working closely with the roaster to provide good quality coffee, then down the track offering food – man food. A whiskey bar is the third component to the business.
“Ultimately, we’ll be a cafe, barber shop and whiskey bar, so the guys can have a drink while they’re having a hair-cut during the week, then Friday and Saturday nights we plan to operate as a small bar,” Chris said.
“We’ll probably focus on scotches, Irish whiskeys and bourbons, but also offer champagne and wine, but the focus will be whiskey, with a bar built right up to the ceiling with an old school ladder going across.
The renovation has been a labour of love for Chris and his nephew Antony over 18 months.
“It’s been happening over a long period of time, sort of like an art work in progress,” Chris said.
“My nephew is the craftsman and I’m the lackey and we’d look at the building on a daily basis, soak it up over a beer, try this here, try that there – and a big part of the creation was the fact we did have the time to work on it ourselves, allowing the building to develop organically.”
Undertaking the building works themselves appears to have paid off, with the look and feel of the space matching Chris’ vision for the business.
“The decor is what I had imaged it would be,” Chris said.
“An open fire, chesterfield lounge, library books – which I have been collecting over the past few years – along with other bits and bobs I’ve found at auctions and op-shops gives it that decadent, deep dark warm gentlemanly lounge feel that was the vision.
“It’s about getting back to old fashion values and service, looking after people and having a bit of fun,” Chris said.
After 18 months of planning, refurbishing and decorating, and with the coffee window already open for business, the long term vision is about to be fulfilled.
“We had a private event for our whiskey bar, and I’m looking forward to that part of the business, standing back in our little space that we’ve created, and enjoying it.”
For more information on II Fingers Bar and Barber Shop visit their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Two-Fingers-Bar-and-Barbershop/1143880945661760
For more information on their coffee window, visit: https://www.facebook.com/iifingers/
