New barber shop offers cocktails as part of a ‘downtown vibe’
A new barbershop on Main Street in Downtown Henderson is offering an amenity previously known to be available in only the hippest cities: the option to sip a bourbon while you’re getting your hair cut or your beard trimmed.
The Spk-Eazy Barber Boutique at 225 N. Main St. is a two-chair barbershop with a small four-stool bar from which customers have the option to order a pour of bourbon, an Old Fashioned cocktail or a glass of wine.
“I’ve only seen this in places like Nashville or Louisville,” owner D.W. Gentry said. “Why not be the first” to offer it in Henderson, he thought.
“A guy taking his wife out (for dinner) can get his hair cut, get some cologne and have a glass of bourbon,” he said. A bar cart will be available for a customer to rest their glass on to avoid getting hair in their drink.
A Henderson native, Gentry has been cutting hair the past eight years at the award-winning Klutch Barber Co., which has two locations in Owensboro.
“I’ve always been a big cocktail guy,” said Gentry, whose effervescent personality pours out like bourbon from a decanter. “At the end of the shift on Fridays, I’d be making margaritas or bourbon and Coke. Get the party started.”
Spk-Eazy is located in the remodeled former Henderson Electric building. It features one wall with exposed brick, other walls newly painted and new flooring. A couch and a couple of easy chairs supplement the bar stools for customers hanging out or waiting to be seated.
“It’s a downtown vibe,” Klutch owner Sean Ralston said.
“In the early stages it will just be me” cutting hair at Spk-Eazy, Gentry said. But he hopes to get other barbers in to use the second chair, and he might eventually add a third.
Starting out, shop hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Later hours are possible on Thursday and Friday in the future, he said.
Appointments are requested and can be made at www.vagaro.com/thespkeazybarberboutique. A smartphone app will be available soon.
Services include men’s haircuts; beard trim; a tailored gentleman experience that includes shampoo, hot towel, beard work, razor clean-up and a glass of bourbon; and a child’s haircut for ages 12 and younger.
Other uses for the space are possible. “We could do after-hours events with a full bar,” Gentry said.
The bar features about a dozen brands of bourbon, from Buffalo Trace and Woodford Double Oak to Blanton’s and E.H. Taylor Jr. Wine is also available. There will be a two-drink maximum during shop hours.
The shop also sells Spk-Eazy merchandise such as T-shirts and hoodies, hair products and merchandise from Kickstand 270, a local purveyor of rare shoes such as retro Air Jordans.
Gentry is amazed by the reception he’s been getting from his business neighbors, like Brian McDaniel, owner of the Beverage Barn liquor store chain and an owner of the new Cap & Cork restaurant on Water Street, and Casey Todd, who owns Hometown Roots, Roast coffee bar and Homer’s Barbecue a half-block from Spk-Eazy.
“Brian helped with getting a liquor license,” Gentry said. “Casey congratulated me and welcomed me to downtown.”
And he’s had a preliminary conversation with Hunter and Annalisa Thewis, owners of Antler coffee shop across the street from the barber shop, about some possible collaboration between Spk-Eazy and The Vault, the event space next door to Antler that the Thewises manage.
“It’s inspiring — people already settled in, welcoming me here,” Gentry said.