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Birkenhead barbers open after the stroke of midnight on Thursday

Author
Newstalk ZB / NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 13 May 2020, 10:55am
Photo / File
Photo / File

Birkenhead barbers open after the stroke of midnight on Thursday

Author
Newstalk ZB / NZ Herald,
Publish Date
Wed, 13 May 2020, 10:55am

Desperately need a haircut at 12.01am on Thursday morning? Head to Birkenhead, where the barbers will open their doors as level 2 begins.

At least three of the village's barbers will open one minute after midnight and remain open until the early hours of the morning, customers pending.

Kae Condon, head of the Birkenhead Village Town Centre Association, said a desperate local came up with the idea.

"He said, 'All the local places with be busy when I'm going to work and then closed when I finish, meaning I have to wait until Saturday at least - and I look like Bob Marley'."

All hairdressers and barbers ground to a halt under level 4 and 3 restrictions, with a boom expected in the business of haircuts as the alert level lowers.

And with barbers traditionally only taking walk-ins, relying on foot traffic, appointments haven't been made or rescheduled like they have at a hair salon.

But it won't be the trim that you're used to - hairdressers will have to don the appropriate protective equipment, maintain good hygiene and minimise contact as much as possible.

"All of the hairdressers and barbers will have to wear masks but it's optional that the client does," Condon said.

"Customers have to be seated one metre apart and all of the tools, equipment and chairs have to be sanitised.

"Payment has to be contactless if possible, or the Eftpos machine has to be regularly sanitised."

One of the trio, The Barber Shop Co, will have barbers in from the start of level 2 and will reopen the shop at 6am for those needing a tidy-up before heading back to work.

Barber Tomi Cvetanovski is planning to down lots of coffee and sugar to keep him awake for the big reopen just after midnight.

"I'm not sure what to expect, but we'll have lots of work coming up," he said.

"There'll be a maximum of two barbers and two customers inside at one time and the others will have to wait outside."

Condon said she hoped business would pick up for the Birkenhead barbers at level 2.

"They've all adapted to what the community wants and needs and they all deserve success, each and every one of them."

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