Get to Know the Man With the Shears at Mike’s Barber Shop

Mike’s Barber Shop (29 John Street) is the kind of welcoming, nondescript spot that Lower Manhattan commuters depend upon to keep those sideburns even and napes of the neck neat — a reliably reliable place to keep clean for a decent price, and without the need for frills.

Thank its owner, Mike Davidoff, for those clean necklines. As a child, he emigrated from Israel to the states with his parents to avoid the mandatory draft and, in New York, learned to cut hair from his father-in-law. Then he enrolled in barber school so he could open his own shop. “He was very proud,” Mike said of his father-in-law, with whom he scored major points for operating his own business. ”Because he knows that I’m supporting his daughter and his grandchild, you know? We went to work on it as soon as we got the lease and started sprucing the place up.”

Hours are Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cuts range from $20 (adults) to $25 (bar-mitzvah boys and up) to $30 (if you spring for a wash). Beard trims are $20 and a cleanup on that neck scruff is $15. Regulars who have posted online attest to good conversation and solid service upon every visit, and that, if barber chatter isn’t your thing, Mike’s got Netflix streaming on the big screen. 

photo: Ann-Sophie Fjello-Jensen