Many customers and friends of The Barbers Inc in Downtown San Jose say they have thoughtful and intelligent conversations while getting a haircut.
Some of the craziest, most ridiculous stories are told as well.
“The barbershop is our therapist,” said Milan Balinton, executive director of the African American Community Service Agency, during The Barber Inc’s 10th anniversary celebration on Saturday.
The barbershop was established in 2011 by David Diggs, a former San Jose State University student. Family, friends, students and San Jose city councilmembers were all in attendance at the event, and excited to support the business.
“This event was a blessing,” Diggs said in a phone call Monday.
Around 35 people gathered on the street congratulating Diggs and his barbers for their work and creating a lively atmosphere.
As Diggs spoke in front of the shop, people hung on to every word he said, followed by clapping and cheering.
Diggs reminded the audience that one person couldn’t have accomplished everything the barbers built and that it was a community effort.
“He did it,” said San Jose Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, with Diggs standing next to him. “We did it,” Diggs replied.
American actor Omar Benson Miller attended the event, who met Diggs at SJSU when the two attended the university.
“[Diggs] is the most enterprising man I’ve ever met,” Miller said.
SJSU Associate Journalism Professor Michael Cheers said Miller loaned Diggs some start-up money for the Downtown San Jose location.
Cheers, who also produced and directed a documentary about the shop,“The Barbershop Diaries,” said he had his first encounter with Barber’s Inc ten years ago because he needed a haircut between classes.
“It [has] been a good 10-year relationship between the university, the shop and the community. The barbershop is the Black man’s country club,” Cheers said. “It’s a place to come, exhale and talk about your relationships and all of that.”
Diggs’ mother, Andrea Bonton, said her son’s been cutting hair since before he opened up the shop.
“I couldn’t afford to take him [to] no other barber place, he hated it. I was jacking up his hair,” Bonton said. “He had to do something about it so he started cutting [his own] hair.”
Amin Munye, a barber originally from Africa, moved to San Jose and worked at Barber’s Inc from its opening in 2011 until 2018.
Munye and many of Diggs’ friends were some of the first people to witness the shop’s beginning.
“We were cutting hair inside of here before it [the shop] was done,” Munye said. “10 years later, it feels the same, [but] upgraded.”
Barber’s Inc blends the old school barbershop with the modern style.
Munye said most barbershops don’t change their shops, but change makes Baber’s Inc different from the rest.
Diggs said he doesn't see his business as the typical workplace. He said the success of Barbers Inc is all because of the barbers.
“They’re not my employees...we’re business partners,” Diggs said during the event.
Barber Victoria Thompson, also known as Vice, said at the event that employees are constantly “pushing each other to be greater.” She's been working at Barbers Inc since 2013 and this experience deeply changed her personality.
“Now I’m calmer and nicer,” Vice said.
When looking for new barbers, Diggs said his interview process is “unorthodox.” He said he doesn’t care how much experience a barber has because he can always teach them to be better.
“I tell them that all barbers [in Barber’s Inc] are doing community service and all barbers look out for each other,” Diggs said over the phone. He said he looks for ambitious, hardworking and committed barbers.
Over the past ten years, Barber’s Inc has been committed to helping the community.
Every year, the barbershop helps parents reduce back-to-school expenses by offering families free haircuts and backpacks through the Kutz for Kidz program, Diggs said over the phone.
Kutz for Kids is a free haircut event in Downtown San Jose where barbers provide free haircuts for kids going back to school. Diggs said in an interview with The Mercury News that the idea is to help kids with their self-esteem.
He said the shop will continue its program in August.
“You never know what to expect next from him [Diggs],” Andrea Bonton said.
