Story and photos BY ERIC VAUGHAN
NNB Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG –A look around Chago’s Barber Shop and it’s apparent owner Chago Diaz stands firmly behind his mission of acceptance in Midtown.
In a sofa near the entrance, awaiting haircuts, sits a gay couple chatting and laughing with one of the other barbers as if they were all old childhood friends.
“It is a safe place to come and be yourself,” said Andrew Winchell, a regular customer. “Everyone treats you with respect here, and it is good to have a place where they know your name.”
Diaz, 32, said when he first opened he was unsure if Midtown would welcome a Cuban-owned business into what he learned was a historically African-American neighborhood. Diaz soon realized that assumption could not have been further from the truth
“Midtown has embraced both my business and myself,” Diaz said as he wrapped a warm steamy towel around a client’s head.
What separates his salon from others in town?
“We accept everyone in here,” Diaz said. “It doesn’t matter if you are black, white, Hispanic, gay, or straight. Everyone gets an amazing haircut and five-star treatment.”
Acceptance spreading through a Barber shop may seem insignificant, but historically barber shops, specifically minority-owned, have been a place for heterosexual male bonding, where “guys could be guys” discussing topics such as sports, cars, and women. Chago’s Barber Shop offers the same ideology as those with the exception there is no restriction on the term “guys.”
Diaz, a Tampa Bay area native, said he was inspired to invest in Midtown because there were no other similar barber shops.
“We give the community a place to go, hang out, watch some TV, or just plain gossip,” Diaz said.
The barber shop conversations ranged from local politics and sports to the Nicki Minaj/Miley Cyrus beef.
Kevin Rix, 31, a master barber, who towers over seated clients at 6’8, said the central location in Midtown offers a chance to meet and interact with people from all walks of life. Offering discounts to students helps Rix and the other barbers connect with the community.
Before the barber shop opened its doors in late 2013, a marketing and advertising firm, Revital Agency occupied the space.
Diaz said because of how Midtown functions as a community and the dependency of business to business relations, he still uses the firm for marketing and help with signage.
“It is very important to us to use local businesses. Midtown is a special place, the history of businesses that were here before me, is just as important as my shop,” Diaz said. “I don’t just feel like this is my shop. This is the community’s barber shop.”
Chago said that a few business had come and gone since the building has been erected, but he hopes his business will remain in Midtown.
“We have found a home in this community, and it means a lot that Midtown has accepted us.”
