Landmark Barbershop Staying Open After Wealthy Patrons Donate to Save Business

A well-known barbershop in Manhattan announced it was going to close down, but its customers wouldn’t let that happen. Astor Place Hair Stylists, a business that has been open for nearly 75 years, told the public last month that they were going out of business due to the pandemic.

They had expected to close their doors around Thanksgiving, but wealthy patrons of the business stepped in to keep that from happening. Financier Jonathan Trichter told the New York Post that investors in the business had joined in to make sure the business is “open for at least another 75 years.”

Other investors, such as Mike Bloomberg, former Hillary Clinton aide Howard Wolfson, pollster Jefrey Pollock and Jeff Gural also chipped in, according to reports.

“I’ve been going to Astor since I had a full head of hair, and I’m happy to help an institution that has meant so much to me and this city. First visit, 1983,” Wolfson told the Post.

Shop managers called the business being able to stay open an “11th-hour save.” Mayor de Blasio also reportedly reached out to the business — which has catered to stars like Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Kevin Bacon and Edward Byrne — to see if there was anything he could do to help.

The staff at the shop has been cut down because of the economy during the pandemic, but the ability to stay open is a glimmer of hope.

“I’ve been going to Astor Hair since my college days, and I’ll be going back until there’s nothing left to cut,” de Blasio told the paper.

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