By TR Robertson
Nineteen years ago, Anderson’s Barber shop occupied 545 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Suite B. Many long time Vista residents may remember stopping by to have a haircut. Over time, this barber shop closed down and the space remained vacant, until November 2018, when Vista Fresh Cut Barber Shop, under the management of Francisco and Diana Gonzalez, leased the property and went through a major remodel to once again provide hair cutting services to the public.
This popular barber shop has withstood the extensive demolishing and rebuilding of S. Santa Fe, as well as COVID shutdowns and restrictions. Francisco said he had a dream when he was a young man growing up in Vista, just around the corner on Terrace Drive, to own a barber shop as he skateboarded past Anderson’s. That dream came through when he was walking past the empty business one day, spoke with the realtor about leasing the space and quickly jumped at the opportunity to once again bring hair cutting services to residents.
Francisco and Diana had their hands full when they took on the project of ripping out the flooring and installing new floors, replacing the barber chairs, remodeling the restroom, painting and cleaning the shop and much more. They were able to find the traditional candy cane barber pole to hang out front of the shop, as they searched on Amazon. Today, Vista Fresh Cut Barber Shop provides an up to date, clean, classic looking atmosphere for their customers. He said atmosphere is important to him, his wife and the barbers that work in the shop.
Francisco is a veteran, a graduate of Vista High School and a proud supporter of the Vista Community. Diana has worked for the VA System and now, along with Francisco, manages the shop. Francisco also works in the construction industry. Currently, four barbers work on commission in the shop – Ulises Aguado, Ivette Ramirez, Jorge Vargaz, and Miguel Leon. On Google, and other social media accounts, the shop gets great reviews with comments like;
“Professional service”, “Clean with great customer service”, “Excellent service with good vibes”.
These kinds of comments make Diana and Francisco proud as they believe the customers come first and they want to treat them like family. Francisco said he studied other barber shops and wanted to make sure they offered quick service where customers didn’t have to wait, a clean, comfortable and professional atmosphere and a variety of ways customers could pay for their service. They provide not only cash payments but cards, phone payments, Apple pay and much more.
Francisco said they were a little worried about staying open when construction started on S. Santa Fe Dr. as the road work in front of their shop, and other businesses, was severely affected during the road construction. He said they did have parking available on Mercantile, behind the shop, and customers could enter from the back. Francisco said he got to know the supervisor of the project quite well. Today, the road work is completed, and they now have plenty of parking out front. He and his wife said the COVID pandemic also hit them hard as they had to shut down for several months and a number of the barbers that once worked for them took other jobs. In 2019, they had only one barber working for them as many of the barbers worked from their homes. They began to notice a change in 2020 and by October of 2021 enough of the restrictions were changed to allow them to begin to add additional staff and have customers in the shop. They did receive some small grants to help out for a time being.
As future Vista Chamber of Commerce members, Francisco said they strongly support Vista and want to be active in the community. They have three children, ages 16, 5 and 4, all in Vista schools. They stay in touch with other barbers and barber shops on Instagram and other social media connections, as they want to stay up to date on what the latest trends are. He is excited to get a new cable provider in the shop so they can get Padre baseball games. They are also hoping to begin to replace their barber chairs, as well as repair and replace the tall electronic sign just outside the shop.
Vista Fresh Cut Barber Shop is open Monday and Thursday thru Saturday from 10 am – 7 pm, Tuesday and Wednesday 4 pm to 7 pm, and Sunday 10 am to 4 pm. Their phone number is 760-295-7888 and they are located at 545 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Suite B.
Supporting businesses like Fresh Cut Barber Shop is another example of supporting local businesses run by individuals who are from Vista and remained in Vista to open businesses made to provide services for residents.
“Fresh Cut Barber Shop – We Keep You Looking Good!”
