Not just the buildings in the Warehouse District are old, some of the businesses are as well.
Rockefeller Barber Shop opened in 1937 on the second floor of the historic Rockefeller Building. Back then, its current location was a ticket booth for the trolley cars that connected the city; however for the last 30 years, it has been the home of Rockefeller Barber Shop.
Interestingly, the Rockefeller Building was initially the location of one of Cleveland’s earliest hotels: Weddell House. Serving guests in the first half of the 19th century, Weddell House is perhaps most famous for the historic occasion that took place on February 15, 1861. During his inaugural trip to Washington, President Abraham Lincoln actually stayed in the Weddell House hotel. We’d like to think the spirit of Honest Abe lives on amidst the four walls of what is now Rockefeller Barber Shop!
For the last 20 years, Ohio City-native Nick Hilf has owned and worked at Rockefeller Barber Shop alongside his colleagues, Ray and Donna. Nick describes himself as coming from a “true and true Ohio City family,” with his grandfather first moving to the area in 1907.
Check out our interview with Nick below to learn more about his business and how the district has evolved over the years.
Q: How long have you been in the Warehouse District, and what drew you here?
A: I started working at Rockefeller Barbershop in the spring of 2002. I chose Rockefeller Barber Shop because I wanted to be working in downtown Cleveland. Lots of professional men. Lots of potential clients.
Q: Are you from Cleveland?
A: I was born and raised in Cleveland. Grew up in Ohio City. Went to Urban Community School, St. Ignatius High School, and Allstate Barber College. I love that I am able to walk or ride my bike and be at work within minutes.
Q: What services do you provide?
A: We provide all styles of haircuts. We are one of the only barbers that offers straight razor shaves and beard trims—a lot of shops don’t do straight razor shaves anymore. We also sell hair products and beard oils. We take walk-in customers and reservations. We definitely play to our strengths and have a lot of experience as a team.
Q: Have you had any noteworthy customers?
A: I have been cutting hair for close to 20 years at Rockefeller Barbershop. I have cut an Olympic gold medalist. I have cut baseball HOF. Players from all major sports. Musicians from major recording artists.
The majority of our customers are older men, a lot of attorneys that work downtown. Just in the last 10 years, we are getting more young professionals coming in because of all the new apartments downtown. We also used to be most popular during the week, but now we are popular on Saturdays when these types of young professionals come in for a cut from local neighborhoods like Ohio City.
Q: What does working in a historic building signify for you?
A: The amount of compliments we get about the shop is amazing. Our entire shop is marble and we have 20 ft. ceilings. You can tell the tile floors were all individually installed—just thousands of them. People come in and just want to take pictures of the place because of our floors and 20 ft. ceilings, so that’s really cool. I love working here and being able to look out and see Terminal Tower and Key Tower and be right in the midst of that skyline.
Rockefeller Barber Shop is open Tuesday through Friday from 9-6 and Saturday from 10-2. You can also follow the shop and check out their latest offerings on Instagram or Facebook!