The Barber Story - Temporarily Closing for Health Concerns
There is a masculinity issue with being incorrect. For the most part, men don’t like being wrong. Call it arrogance, call it pride, but whatever you call it, there is a drive that is deep inside of me to be correct in everything I do.
I want to make sure that this is clear
Young people are wrong to underestimate this.
America was wrong to respond slowly to this.
Most of all, I was wrong.
I was wrong in making the decision to have a grand opening without understanding the gravity of an individual’s action. I was wrong in making the initial decision to stay open throughout all of this. I was wrong to wait until all of my friend’s businesses were closing around me.
As a business owner, I am going to kick myself over this mistake, but it’s not one that I have to stay firm to.
This virus has gotten worse then any of us could have ever imagined 3 months ago, and I no longer find it responsible to have The Barber Story open to the public while those in power are still learning how to prevent further spread of this global pandemic.
I want to be clear, none of the barbers have shown any symptoms of being sick at the time of writing this. We have collectively decided to self-quarantine for the next 14 days to ensure that we do not pass this virus on to the community we support. While this will be a significant financial burden to us and our families, we believe this is the best effort that can be made to not contribute to the spread of COVID-19.
As a shop owner, I strongly encourage everyone in the hair industry to stay at home. The house and senate have passed a stimulus package that has been signed into law by POTUS45 to ensure the economy doesn’t fail, and can help ease your worry about financial hardship. It is the implied responsibility of your state issued license to protect the public’s health, and your presence in a barbershop or a salon does the opposite of that.
The Barber Story will be closed until 4/2, or until further notice. Everything will depend on the world around us, and that is why we encourage you to help us stay home.
We would love to come back to full books when all of this blows over, so jump over to the barber page so you can pre-book your appointments for April.
On a personal note, please pay attention to CDC.gov as well as the World Health Organization website on a daily basis. These are the best resources (direct from the source and not on social media) to find out what you can do to be a part of the solution.
Stay safe, stay healthy, stay inside.
-Chris
