After nearly half a century in Southbury, Walt Barber is retiring — and his namesake barber shop is closing its doors for the last time.
Loyal customers and longtime friends continue to stop in for coffee, conversation, and a heartfelt goodbye to Walt’s Barber Shop, a local landmark tucked in Bennett’s Square since 1976.
“I couldn’t have done it without my family, friends, and customers,” Barber said.
The man with the perfect name for his trade has cut the hair of generations of Southbury residents. Though a recent back injury has sidelined him from cutting, he still holds court in one of the shop’s iconic burgundy chairs, welcoming visitors and sharing stories. Now in his mid-80’s, he quips: “I’ve been a Barber for 86 years.”
He began his career after attending barber school in Tucson, Arizona in 1955. He later met his wife Kathy and moved to Connecticut in 1969. The opportunity to open up his own shop came from Homer Bennett, who developed the commercial buildings at 134 South Main Street. Walt settled in Woodbury with his family, while his Southbury barbershop quickly became a second living room to his regulars.
Over the years, the barbershop welcomed an eclectic mix of patrons — from everyday locals to the likes of playwright Arthur Miller, and his son-in-law, actor Daniel Day-Lewis.
In Arizona, Barber also gave country music legend Waylon Jennings a trim for the cover of his 1964 LP Analog Pearls Vol. 1. A framed photo and album cover graced the shop’s walls for decades.
Known for its crisp flat-top cuts, the shop also had a soft spot for service. Walt offered complimentary haircuts to military members shipping out, and to every father of the bride
“That’s just the thing you do,” he said.
A plastic jug was used in the shop to collect donations for troops, including funds for calling cards during Operation Desert Storm and donating to the Tunnel for Towers Foundation.
Dozens of patches from police, fire, EMS, and military departments decorated the shop. The collection began with a badge from a retired New Canaan officer and grew over the years, Walt says.
With the closing of his shop, Barber has donated the patch board to the Southbury Police Department, where it will be proudly displayed. Sergeant Armeno paid a visit to the shop and proudly accepted the board on behalf of the newly-independent police department.
For residents like Mike Fleming, the closing of Walt’s Barber Shop marks an end of an era. He’s been coming for a haircut since he moved to town in 1994, and is one of the many customers who have stopped by to pay their respects to the longtime staple of Southbury.
“This was always the spot,” Fleming said. “This has been like the North Star – everything else in town revolves around it.”
He and Walt, whose birthdays are only a day apart, reminisced over their decades of friendship and the start to new chapters in their lives.
“The only time I ever went somewhere else was when he was on vacation,” he recalls before taking a final photograph with his longtime barber. “It breaks my heart, but that’s the way it goes.”
Two days a week, the shop would open up at 5:00 a.m. — ideal for many local farmers. Even in its final days, an early morning coffee group still gathers even though the shop’s clippers and razors are all boxed up.
Joe Dilley, Terry Brenn and Alyssa Fleming represent the generations of locals who start their day catching up with each other at the shop before heading off to work.
“For me, the hours were really good because I’d come in on Saturday and get a cup of coffee and a haircut,” Brenn said. “You don’t see that anymore at other shops.”
Before her own morning commute to Hartford, Alyssa Fleming sits in the shop that has seen her family step in countless times. Walt recalls watching Alyssa and her brother grow up in the shop, while their father worked construction.
“It’s a barbershop, it’s a comedy club, it’s a coffee shop, and sometimes it’s a church as well as a therapist,” she says about Walt’s Barber Shop. “It’s everything.”
The shop even received recognition at the most recent Board of Selectmen meeting.
First Selectman Jeff Manville and Selectman Tim O’Neill recognized the shop for being “a staple in the Southbury community,” adding their congratulations and a happy retirement message to Walt.
“He’s been cutting my hair since I was 6-years-old,” said Selectman O’Neill. “When I was in college, I would wait to get my haircut until I came back at Christmas time. He will be sorely missed.”
First Selectman Manville shared his own story.
“When my father was in the hospital for a period of time, Walt would go and cut his hair,” said First Selectman Manville. “Walt did this for many people. He treated many veterans very well. I doubt there will be another Walt’s Barber Shop.”
In retirement, Walt plans to spend more time with his grandkids – cheering them on at sports games and enjoying family time. His daughters, Kellie and Jill, are both educators in Woodbury.
In parting, he offered a message to the community that supported him for nearly five decades:
“Thank you for all the good years, good times, and the friendships that will last forever.”
The Southbury Record 