(June 9, 2016) Like the town itself, there’s something refreshingly old-fashioned about Tracy’s Berlin Barbershop.
The owner, Tracy Adkins, grew up in the town. She worked for several years as an animal groomer, before becoming a barber about five years ago.
“For 13 years, I groomed dogs,” she said. “And then my hands started to hurt me, so then I decided to do men’s haircuts instead of animals. It’s a much smaller area.”
She recently earned her master’s barber license and, last year, opened her own shop, a two-seater on 10019 Old Ocean City Boulevard. Anyone driving by would be hard pressed to miss the bright, red, white and blue candy-striped sign outside.
“I worked for other barbers and it just seemed like it never worked out, and I always wanted my own place anyway,” she said. “After I had my son, I called Mr. Frank that I used to work with in Ocean Pines and said, ‘I’m going to open up my own barber shop in Berlin. Do you want to come work with me?’
“We’ve been working here ever since,” she added. “I love it. It’s amazing.”
The “Frank” in question is Frank Tribuno, a six-decade veteran of the industry. Born in Italy, Tribuno said he’s cut countless heads of hair. Once, he worked a 28-year stretch, by appointment only, booking 24 haircuts each day.
Along with standard haircuts, Tracy’s offers old-fashioned straight razor shaves, complete with a hot towel. The shop also does kid’s haircuts, including flattops.
“Any kind of haircut they want, we can do it,” Adkins said.
Since she opened, Adkins said the people in town have been amazing.
“It’s nice that I was a barber here before,” she said. “The same people come in that I haven’t seen in a while, and maybe they see my name on the board. It’s kind of cool to see people come back.”
In the future, she hopes to have a bigger space and, potentially, a few more barbers.
“We’d also like to do more with the hot shaves,” she said. “That kind of thing is more popular in the city right now, but I’d like to bring it more this way.”
Adkins recently worked with local beard guru Jon Conley, owner of Uncle Jon’s Soaps in Berlin, on a nonprofit event for Diakonia. She hopes to continue with similar collaborations in the future.
“I’m trying to figure out a better way to reach people and find out what people want and what they want us to do more of,” she said. “And I do want younger people here because they’ll be with you longer.”
Tracy’s Berlin Barber Shop is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
For more information, call 443-880-6785 or search “Tracy’s Berlin Barber Shop” on Facebook.
The owner, Tracy Adkins, grew up in the town. She worked for several years as an animal groomer, before becoming a barber about five years ago.
“For 13 years, I groomed dogs,” she said. “And then my hands started to hurt me, so then I decided to do men’s haircuts instead of animals. It’s a much smaller area.”
She recently earned her master’s barber license and, last year, opened her own shop, a two-seater on 10019 Old Ocean City Boulevard. Anyone driving by would be hard pressed to miss the bright, red, white and blue candy-striped sign outside.
“I worked for other barbers and it just seemed like it never worked out, and I always wanted my own place anyway,” she said. “After I had my son, I called Mr. Frank that I used to work with in Ocean Pines and said, ‘I’m going to open up my own barber shop in Berlin. Do you want to come work with me?’
“We’ve been working here ever since,” she added. “I love it. It’s amazing.”
The “Frank” in question is Frank Tribuno, a six-decade veteran of the industry. Born in Italy, Tribuno said he’s cut countless heads of hair. Once, he worked a 28-year stretch, by appointment only, booking 24 haircuts each day.
Along with standard haircuts, Tracy’s offers old-fashioned straight razor shaves, complete with a hot towel. The shop also does kid’s haircuts, including flattops.
“Any kind of haircut they want, we can do it,” Adkins said.
Since she opened, Adkins said the people in town have been amazing.
“It’s nice that I was a barber here before,” she said. “The same people come in that I haven’t seen in a while, and maybe they see my name on the board. It’s kind of cool to see people come back.”
In the future, she hopes to have a bigger space and, potentially, a few more barbers.
“We’d also like to do more with the hot shaves,” she said. “That kind of thing is more popular in the city right now, but I’d like to bring it more this way.”
Adkins recently worked with local beard guru Jon Conley, owner of Uncle Jon’s Soaps in Berlin, on a nonprofit event for Diakonia. She hopes to continue with similar collaborations in the future.
“I’m trying to figure out a better way to reach people and find out what people want and what they want us to do more of,” she said. “And I do want younger people here because they’ll be with you longer.”
Tracy’s Berlin Barber Shop is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
For more information, call 443-880-6785 or search “Tracy’s Berlin Barber Shop” on Facebook.