Since its opening in 1921, the covered shopping district Nickels Arcade has been a hub for University of Michigan students and the larger Ann Arbor community alike. The Michigan Daily Business beat interviewed some of these businesses to highlight the current state of the Arcade. Read the other stories here.
The historic Arcade Barbers first opened in Nickels Arcade in 1917 and still maintains the look of a traditional 1900s barber shop, complete with leather barber chairs, a striped barber’s pole and octagonal floor tiling. However, unlike a vintage barber shop, Arcade Barbers also features a mural of locations around Ann Arbor and a LEGO train around the perimeter of the shop.
Owner Tiffany Lakes worked at Arcade Barbers for ten years before purchasing it from the previous owner, Russell Rutt, in 2001. After the sale, Rutt stayed on part-time to help Lakes with the transition. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Lakes said Rutt taught her everything she needed to know to run the business.
“I had mentioned multiple times to (Rutt) that I was interested (in taking over the business),” Lakes said. “Then one day he just came to me and asked me if I was serious. I was like, ‘heck yeah,’ and he’s like, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ So it just came to be … He’s kind of who taught me pretty much everything I know about running the place.”
Since taking over the business, Lakes said she has tried to maintain Rutt’s traditions while also incorporating new ideas of her own. She said she implemented a number system for walk-in customers that allowed customers to shop in the Arcade while they waited. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arcade Barbers has also started taking appointments.
“(Rutt) was old school: you come in, you get your haircut, you don’t do appointments, you don’t call ahead,” Lakes said. “So once I took over, I kind of put in the pull-a-number system — that was before we started doing appointments because of COVID — that kind of allowed people to support the other local businesses around like by buying coffee, or back when Border’s (bookshop) was here they’d go look at CDs and books and stuff.”
One tradition Lakes tries to maintain is offering a recent local newspaper for customers to read. However, Lakes said she has struggled to keep up with this practice because Ann Arbor does not have a daily print paper.
“The one thing I couldn’t honor that he had wanted was having a newspaper in here,” Lakes said. “It’s really hard to get those anymore, so I’ve only been able to kind of keep up with the magazines and stuff.”
Arcade Barbers is rooted in tradition, with many of their clients’ families coming to the shop for generations. Lakes said she believes people stay with Arcade Barbers for generations because unlike other barber shops, they make an effort to maintain personal relationships with their clients.
“We have such a personal experience and relationship with a lot of our clientele and we’ve got so many multi-generations of clientele as well,” Lakes said. “(There are) so many stories of grandpas down to grandkids and great-grandkids that come in here. It’s kind of like a rite of passage almost … the personal relationships that we have with a lot of the clients is what makes us different, like we don’t just cut your hair and shoot you out the door. We actually text our customers sometimes and check on them, especially during COVID.”
Lakes said community exists in all aspects of the business, especially since customers will come to Arcade Barbers because they know they also can easily access other businesses in the Arcade before or after their appointment.
“A lot of times (customers will) make an appointment so they can go get their caffeine on as well as getting their hair cut and then (going to) the flower shop in here,” Lakes said. “I think it really is a lot about all of us working together and referring each other.”
In addition to the location bringing customers in, Lakes said the diverse staff within Arcade Barbers creates a positive and welcoming environment for customers.
“I’d say we’re super well-rounded in the sense that we have … always hired every type of person possible,” Lakes said. “I feel like it’s been such a blessing to see (a customer) who sometimes feels left out or a minority feel like they’ve got a place they can go to where they’ll be (accepted and) it’s totally cool to be who you are.”
Summer News Editor Rebecca Lewis can be reached at rebeccl@umich.edu.