Jan. 12, 2022

If the first week at Sir by Vanessen’s is a sign of things to come, the new downtown luxury barbershop might have found a niche.

“We’ve been super busy and have had lots of phone calls, so it’s been really booked,” manager Dani Cawthorne said.

“We wanted to open in October and things kept getting prolonged, and I think the built-up anticipation made us boom even more.”

The salon is at 430 E. Eighth St. in the East Bank Depot and is part of the locally owned Vanessen’s salons, which also have locations on 26th Street near Minnesota Avenue and at The Bridges at 57th.

“We’re a luxury barber spa, so really for any man or woman – we don’t want to stereotype – with short haircuts,” Cawthorne said. “That’s what we specialize in. We were hoping to reach a lot of businessmen downtown over the lunch hour, but we’ve kind of seen a wide variety from everybody honestly.”

There’s also a “Little Sir” service for kids’ cuts.

The vibe is “luxurious, but we also still want it to be really relaxing and like a chill vibe for guys to come in,” Cawthorne said.

The staff includes a barber, three stylists and a wax specialist. There are two chairs still remaining for barbers or stylists, and the hope is to add a massage therapist.

While haircuts have been the mainstay so far, pedicures have been surprisingly popular already, Cawthorne said.

“We’ve done at least 10,” she said of the first week. “I feel like a lot of men don’t feel comfortable going to a typical nail salon, and here it’s a comfortable, masculine vibe.”

Other spa services include manicures, waxing and facials.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.