Text and photos by Stacie Joy
Juan Rosado of
Don Juan's Barber Shop is busy adjusting a themed barber cape with extra paper towel lining for a young client when I show up to interview him.
There’s a line of people waiting to see him at the shop, 303 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D, and very little rest between customers. He pauses only to sweep up, clean the station and prepare for the next clip.
Surrounded by bottles of aftershave lotion and powders, clippers and shavers, artwork and stickers covering every surface, tees and caps for sale crammed into corners, the space has two large screen TVs and a display case festooned with a variety of snapback caps. There are people outside milling around patiently waiting in the cold for one of the seats on the tiny waiting bench to become free.
Rosado answers my questions about the shop’s history and the regulars who come to him for fades, trims and cuts.
How long has Don Juan's Barber Shop been in business?
Since 1999. When I first started cutting hair, I set up in the empty lot next to the Third Street Post Office and ran an extension cord to give $5 haircuts to the neighborhood.
After putting in some time at Raul’s on Avenue B and a couple of other places, I opened Don Juan’s in an old dime-bag drug-sales spot, Chuchi’s Candyland. This was during the Giuliani years and the crackdown on narcotics. Due to a past marijuana conviction, I had to use my brother’s name on the lease. My brother Edgar works for UPS. We co-own the shop.
What is special to you about being in the East Village?
I was born and raised here and live around the corner at Third and Avenue C.
What is the most popular service you provide?
All services run $15 to $25, with skin fades, comb overs and designs being the most popular.
Who is a typical client?
We see a lot of firefighters, law enforcement, FBI/Homeland Security/CIA, local people, and some famous people such as
John Leguizamo and
DJ Enuff. We’re also a family-friendly shop.
The shop seems nonstop busy. Do you have any plans to expand?
No. We get our lease renewed every two years. Our landlord is a good guy, and we always hope there’s no problem!
Juan also has his own line of apparel: pins, caps, hoodies, shirts and bags under the StackChips apparel line, which you can buy at the barbershop or at
Arlo Hotel in Soho. Also for sale at Don Juan’s, Freaky Frige’s I’m Everywhere line of products (we’ve featured Frige’s work before
here).
The shop's hours are Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., but sometimes Don Juan will stay open until 7 p.m.
Rosado, an East Village native who grew up around the corner, started cutting hair by setting up in the empty lot next to the post office branch on Third Street and ran an extension cord to give $5 haircuts to the neighborhood. (An aside: He's also an excellent photographer.)
Thankfully, Rosado isn't going too far: He'll have a chair at Jay Joe's Classic Cuts at 256 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C. 
Previously on EV Grieve: 
