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Posted 05.19.08 Barbershop's future may be clipped. Daily Record -- Dec. 2007 Owners must vacate building after 37 years By Vidya Padmanabhan Originally published in the Daily Record, Dec. 24, 2007 FLORHAM PARK -- The winter cold and the relentless march of progress nipped at the door, but inside, in the warmth, Joe Falvo of the Continental Barber Shop was doing what he does best. Graying tufts of hair drifted to the floor from gently balding scalps, as Falvo's mellow Italian-accented voice rumbled in conversation with longtime clients on a recent Thursday. Starting January, those clients may have to go elsewhere for the easy all-male bonhomie and the old-fashioned magic with the shears. After 37 years at the location, Joe Falvo and Joe Dotro, who own the shop, were told last month that they would have to vacate the premises by Dec. 31, so that the developer who owns the property could proceed with demolition of the building for the construction of a retail center. The plans have been public for a long time. The developer has owned the property for more than a year, and the barbers have known that this day would come. But there had been early promises by the developer to give them an alternate place to operate while their building was demolished, according to the barbers. That was just hope talking, according to the developer. "There was no original agreement (to provide the barbers with an alternate spot)," said Rosemary Stone-Dougherty, attorney for the developer, Florham Park Properties LLC. Casualties of development The Continental Barber Shop is a casualty of a deal to develop a retail center at the corner of Columbia Turnpike and Ridgedale Avenue. A single-family dwelling, the former Elks Lodge, and the former Speedex building, which now houses the Continental Barber Shop, would all come down to make way for a retail center. The developer also plans to add an extension to a commercial center behind the Continental Barber Shop on Columbia Turnpike. It was as part of the same deal with the borough that the developer paid to move the 109-year-old Afton Hook and Ladder Co. firehouse to a lot adjacent to the fire department on Brooklake Road. The firehouse stayed up on its blocking for nearly five months until the borough granted the development company the demolition permits it needed. It finally came down off its blocking onto its foundation last week. Postponing the inevitable Stone-Dougherty said her client had been "very generous" to the barbers. The developer had even waived December's rent, and, though it currently appeared that the barbers would stay into the first week of January, that was "no big deal," she said. An idea of putting up the barbers in a trailer had been floated, but problems with handicapped-accessibility and sewer connections made it infeasible, according to borough engineer Mike Sgaramella. For their downtown space, the barbers were paying a rent that was much below market rate, Stone-Dougherty said. "That just does not happen in today's world." Her client had kept the barbers in business for as long as possible, when the developer could have demolished the building and saved a lot of money on real estate taxes alone, she said. "But it was a just a matter of how long we could postpone the inevitable," she said. "From a business perspective, it just does not make sense." Reminiscing about shop's history The little shop, with the twirling barber's pole announcing its presence, holds plenty of memories for its owners and regulars. Joe Falvo, now 70, and Joe Dotro, 71, came to work for Neil Rugiero, who opened the shop in 1965. When "the boss" died in 1969, Falvo and Dotro bought the shop, and moved it to its current location in 1971. There was a third Joe, Joe Pilone, who also owned the business. He died in 1991. "There's a lot of history here," Falvo reminisced, as his scissors flicked almost instinctively at Don Mennella's thick salt-and-pepper hair. Falvo dismissed a suggestion that his client looked a little worried at his multi-tasking. "He knows I don't make a mistake," he said. He manned the middle chair of the three chairs at which the three Joes had worked. Joe Dotro was away Thursday because his wife was unwell, Falvo said. Faded photographs of the crew, in the early days, sat on a shelf. There's only one other old-fashioned barbershop -- Eddie's -- in the borough, Falvo said. "But that's unisex," he said, with a purist's disapproval. "Other places, you have to get an appointment," he said. "I wish I'd made one here this morning," one of the several customers seated, waiting, said drolly. "A sad day for Joe and Joe," said a sign on a window. "December 31 will mark the end of over 40 years of service to Florham Park and its surrounding communities.... We will miss you, your families and our many conversations." Shop served generations The sign on the window had been made by Falvo's son, Michael, 40, now an executive with Schering-Plough, Falvo said, drawing his son's business card from his wallet. "He's a big shot now," he said. But he remembered a time when Michael used to be a shoeshine boy at the shop. His customers associate similar multi-generational memories with the shop. Harold George, 80, used to bring his four sons to get their haircuts at the shop, he said. Robert Froetscher, 77, also brought his four boys to the shop. "I have wonderful relationships with both Joes," Froetscher said. "We had some good conversations -- a little politics, a little sports, vacation places." Good haircuts and good prices -- those were the reasons Don Mennella came to Continental, he said. The clear, unassuming price list was up on a wall: $14 for a haircut, $12 for boys, $14 for boys' haircuts on Saturdays, and $16 for razor-cuts. Falvo had no idea how much he made in a month, he said. "That's not my cup of tea," he said, as if shrugging off such vulgarities. Barbers may reopen He still hoped to keep the shop open, perhaps in a different location, he said. He would have to check with Dotro whether he still wanted in on the business. Then they would perhaps start exploring possibilities in the spring. If the rent turned out to be reasonable, he might even come back into the new retail center in the same location, he said. "Otherwise, I'm going to make pizza," he declared. He had spent 18 years early in his life working nights at Joe's Pizzeria in Union, he said. "The question is, do you still remember?" Froetscher said. For now, Falvo actually looked forward to the time off, he said. "I can relax over the winter. I've been working for 50 years, and never really had a vacation." Any plans for the forced vacation? "I'll watch the snow falling down," he said, "and drive my wife crazy." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vidya Padmanabhan can be reached at (973) 428-6621 or vpadmana@gannett.com. |
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