Customers at Barnes Barber Shop like to stay sharp on current issues — in addition to looking sharp.

        The 35-year-old family-owned Madisonville business is one of the neighborhood's oldest establishments, and a popular gathering place.

        Often, discussions about race, family and community mix with the snip, snip of scissors and the hum of electric razors.

Ed Barnes III (right) trims Kyle Lee's beard as Felicia Barnes cuts the hair of Parrish Wright, 11, at Barnes Barber Shop in Madisonville. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Barnes will serve as one of several community gathering places for TV viewers to participate in Common Ground, a live, interactive TV and radio broadcast tonight of race relations discussions happening around the Tristate.

        The “watch parties” and events start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on WCET (Channel 48) and other network affiliates. It also will be streamed live at Cincinnati.com.

        Barnes Barber Shop opened in 1957, shortly after its founder, the late Monroe Barnes, moved to Cincinnati from Alabama. Relatives followed him to help operate the Madison Road business.

        Today, Barnes is run by three brothers: Ed, Horace and Harry Barnes. Relatives Ed Barnes III, Felicia Barnes and Tim Barnes also own a stake.

        The business has expanded, too. The Barnes family also has a hair-products distributorship four storefronts down on Madison Road and another barber shop in Evanston.

        “Everybody in the neighborhood knows Barnes Barber Shop,” said Timothy Wallace, a 35-year-old Covington man who has gotten haircuts there since he was 5.

        “It is one of the shining stars of the community. People are very respectful when they come into the shop or see the Barneses on the street,” Mr. Wallace said. “You won't hear any profanity coming out of people's mouths when they're in here, nobody's drinking alcohol or hanging out front on the step.

        “It's very classy and family-oriented.”

        Barnes often attracts lines of African-Americans and a few whites waiting for an open barber chair. As early as 4 a.m., customers from Covington to Golf Manor can be found outside the shop waiting for the doors to open at 7 a.m.

        “On Saturdays I usually get here at about 4:30 a.m. and there are still two or three cars here before me,” said Mike Thompson, 21, of Kennedy Heights. “I'm thinking to myself: "If I got here at 4:30, what time did these guys have to get up to beat me here? Did they even go to sleep last night?'”

        At 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, about 15 people were waiting for cuts while five more were in barber chairs. Some folks watched television, others struggled to listen in on conversations between the barbers and customers that are barely audible over the whir of hair trimmers.

        Conversation topics ranged from the lackluster performance of the Cincinnati Bengals to the pros and cons of today's TV and radio broadcasts of a town-hall meeting on race relations.

        Community trust is key in creating an environment in which people feel comfortable expressing their views in addition to spending their money, says Roosevelt Barnes, vice president of Barnes Barber and Beauty Supply.

        “I think we've been able to last so long because we have a very intimate relationship with the community,” he said. “It's good to know that people appreciate us and depend on us.”

        For Mike Thompson and others, the connection with the Barneses is simple:

        “It's like the TV show Cheers,” Mr. Thompson said. “You come in here and everybody knows your name.”
       

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