'We're not going anywhere': Toronto barbershop celebrates 90 years of service
Forest Hill Barber Shop has become a family affair – not just for the staff, but for the generations of customers who've come to get their haircut.
"It all begins in 1931," Terry Caris told CTV News Toronto, as he sat in the barber chair usually occupied by his customers. "My father-in-law came around in the early 60s and he was running it until the 80s when he became the sole owner."
His father-in-law’s name was Nick Vitantonio, and he was the owner of Forest Hill Barber Shop for nearly half a century.
"I started dating Nick's daughter in high school," Mario Smeriglio told CTV News Toronto. "When his partner Tony retired, he needed a barber and he kept asking my brothers if they wanted to come work- and I said maybe I'm going to try it!"
Decades later, Smeriglio and Caris are co-owners of the Spadina Road shop. They're also married to Vitantonio's daughters. A truly family affair, the newest barber at the shop is Nick's grandson Alex Caris.
He says he grew up around the shop, telling CTV News Toronto, "I've been working since I was about nine-years-old, sweeping the floor and helping these guys out and just spectating and having a lot of fun."
There was plenty of fun at the shop on Friday, as customers and people passing by came to congratulate the staff on the shop's 90th anniversary. Some stayed for a drink, others brought gifts, and many came to get a haircut.
Former owner Nick Vitantonio ran Toronto's Forest Hill Barber Shop for nearly half a century.
Much has changed in the shop in the past 90 years, including the haircuts themselves, according to the shop's longest serving barber. Nicola Peragine has been cutting hair at the shop for 51 years, and says when he started it was "the long hair like the Beatles. I started cutting and giving the long hair, and then the styles started changing."
But like the antique cash register in the shop's back corner, some things remain from days gone by like the straight razor shaves, hot towels, and scalp massages. They're just some of the reasons customers keep coming back.
"We're at four generations now of cutting hair," Smeriglio said. "We've had families that have been coming here for years and years.”
But some of the original generation are still coming too, including 83-year-old Michael Aiken, who came to the shop on Friday to offer his best wishes. He's been getting haircuts at the shop for the past 75-years. He said he still remembers the shop as young boy.
Toronto's Forest Hill Barber Shop celebrates it’s 90th anniversary on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.
"I used to come in here and there was a man who swept the floors of all the loose hair," Aiken told CTV News Toronto. "I always wanted to push the hair into the hole and one time he let me do it and I was thrilled."
Staff say the secret to their success has been the loyalty of customers. Something that's been tested during the past several years during COVID-19.
"When we got shut down, I said ‘well this is over,’" Terry Caris said. "The rest is history I guess. We managed. We still had bills to pay, and it's been a challenge, but we're here to stay. We're not going anywhere."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.