Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Portman.
In 2006, Michael Portman and Jayson Rapaport – childhood friends from Laredo, Texas – found themselves living in Austin with nowhere to get an affordable, high-quality haircut. Jayson landed in town from a stint as a Wall Street trader, Michael as a screenwriter with a day job in marketing at Disney. Neither cut hair, but they knew as clients that getting a cut was a chore. Why couldn’t it be something they looked forward to?
Together they created a salon for men and women, took out all the fuss, and added free Shiner beer to the experience. An addiction to old school arcade games developed. Birds Barbershop has been named six consecutive times to ELLE Magazine’s list of the 100 best salons in America and by the Austin Chronicle as Best Barbershop every year since opening. Today, Birds Barbershop employs more than 150 people in nine locations across Texas. They opened their first location outside of Austin in Houston in December 2016.
Has it been a smooth road?
Every day at Birds Barbershop presents a speed bump, but never a roadblock. Our ongoing challenge is educating people that we are a barbershop that doesn’t serve just men, but the whole family. As we like to say, the party is more fun when everyone is invited. Birds is a barbershop for everyone.
Also, another challenge is getting people used to the idea that we are open seven days a week as most Houstonians are used to barbershops and salons being closed on Sundays and Mondays.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Birds Barbershop puts employees first, ahead of clients, and adheres to a strict no-drama policy internally. As we have learned over the last decade in business, happy employees with top notch skills give great haircuts that make clients feel good about themselves. This is not the norm in the salon business, and as a result Birds has become a refuge for employees looking to escape the gossipy norm and for clients wanting a quality product at an affordable price. Our specialty is haircuts, but also color services, servicing everyone from mom to grandpa to the punk rock kids.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
After building eight locations in Austin, we set our sights on Houston specifically, ruling out other second city locations like Dallas and Nashville. Houston speaks to our base of cosmopolitan customers who want a fresh look without the too-cool-for-school feel of a too-fancy salon. So far, our hunch has proven correct, and the Heights is a near mirror of the South Austin neighborhood we started in — focused on local business, local flavor and reflecting the verve and spirit of the neighborhood.
Pricing:
- Shortcut $25
- Ladybird $45
- Kidcut $20
Contact Info:
- Address: Birds Barbershop
420 E. 20th Street
Houston, TX 78704 - Website: birdsbarbershop.com
- Phone: 713-999-0800
Image Credit:
B&W photos: Alison Narro
Birds Barbershop
