In the late 1950's, neighborhood barber shop's, long the local bastion of urban masculinity, began to disappear. When "flower-power" brought about changes in men's hairstyles, many barbers rode out the storm working fewer and fewer hours. Eventually many business owners packed up shop and moved to newly built shopping Centers, opening unisex salons that offered a "one size fits all" approach to their services. It seemed the heyday of the corner barber shop was gone for good.

Master barber Joe Grondin in front of the first Roosters location, which opened in 1998.

Creating a barbershop that was more like a men's club than a hair salon was the vision of master barber Joe Grondin. He opened the doors to the first Roosters in 1999 and has been opening one location at a time ever since. "I try not to get ahead of myself," said Grondin, with a characteristic wit that has become part of what he calls his "chairside" manner. Roosters Men's Grooming Centers are currently open for business in several cities all across America. For franchising information visit: www.roostersmgc.com

Charlotte entrepreneur Larry Bonhaus brought Roosters to the Queen City. Frustrated about not being able to find a barber or stylist to meet his own grooming needs ("I have really curly hair which can be hard to cut correctly"), and finding that nearly everywhere he turned in Charlotte, men were sharing similar stories about the lack of quality grooming services at a fair price, Larry began searching for a solution. He liked what he saw in Roosters, but it wasn't until Larry had his first hot facial shave that he was really sold. "I was amazed at how soothing and refreshing the process was. And the shave was closer than anything I had ever experienced. I knew Roosters was something I had to share with the men of Charlotte." With two Roosters locations open in SouthPark and Ballantyne, Larry has done just that.