44th Street Barber Shop & Salon

Ashraf, the owner of Le Salon, insists that she puts more thought into the products she uses than most hair stylists. Everything is organic, from the shampoos to the dyes. Ashraf told Manhattan Sideways team member Jon that she does this very deliberately. In an age when everyone is constantly using chemicals in their hair, she believes that it is causing harm, killing hair and hurting everyone’s general health. In order to fight against this trend, “organic is the way to go with both your health and the environment, ” Ashraf said. Ashraf has been a hairstylist for over forty years, working in almost every facet of the hairstyling industry. She emigrated to the United States from Iran in the 1970s, eventually landing in Henri Bendel’s hair salon. After working as a stylist for several years, she was hired by Bendel to travel the world, designing, managing, and running several hair salons. After learning as much as she possibly could, she made the decision in 1990 to come back to Manhattan and open up her own salon on 57th Street, which she later sold. Throughout this journey, Ashraf realized the importance of organic products, taking note to use them exclusively in her next salon. She opened Le Salon in 2007, catering towards people with health issues including alopecia, severe allergies and cancer. She believes that using gentle and organic products on their hair is the best treatment for these clients. Ashraf maintains that her products, all purchased exclusively from England, are of the highest quality.

I can attest to the immediate success of Carmine's on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the early nineties as my family and friends stood on the lines to get in on a number of occasions. Owner Artie Cutler's concept of serving large, family-style portions to guests, in a warm, friendly atmosphere connected with diners immediately. It did not take Mr. Cutler long to realize that he had a success on his hands and that it was time for expansion. In 1992, the theater district had another hit in Times Square, in the form of a grand, traditional Italian restaurant.

Teddy Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, and Charles Lindberg are among the noteworthy clients that E. B. Meyorwitz & Dell has been crafting “made-to-measure” frames for since 1875. Today, be it in their New York, London or Paris shops, one can still be fitted for a pair of the same classy, high quality spectacles.

In a city where cultural fads and neighborhoods change frequently, one necessity has remained the same - men continue to be in need of a haircut. That simple fact has kept Olde Tyme Barbers in business since 1929. Or at least that is how Joe “the Boss” Magnetico explains being successful, despite the way midtown has changed since his grandfather opened his doors. Joe is the third generation of barbers, and his daughter Anne-Marie is the fourth and first female barber in the family. Joe’s grandfather, the original “Joe the Barber, ” first opened his shop at the Statler Hilton Hotel. In 1945, his son, Frank Magnetico, moved the barbershop to the current location on 41st Street underneath the Chanin building, a New York City national landmark. This makes Olde Tyme Barbers the oldest retail establishment currently in business on 41st from the East River to the New York Public Library. It is easy to tell that Joe, his family, and his staff take pride in the work that they do and the history they have created. Joe still uses the original chairs from the barbershop his grandfather opened. Sitting behind the cash register, Joe stated, “We’re not a business you can do on the internet. ” By this he means that despite the way business and the neighborhood has changed in the past years, Joe and his family have survived for so long by remaining true to their trade. He charges what is fair and treats everyone who comes in with respect. Joe told me, “you have to be able to make relationships in business: it’s how you survive. ” This is why Joe’s regulars are so loyal. Generations of men in the same family continue to come from all over the Metropolitan area to get their hair cut by his staff. They have been able to do something special in midtown - to create a neighborhood environment in an area of Manhattan that is not considered a neighborhood anymore. Joe ended our conversation by mentioning that he does not believe that he could open a barber shop in today’s market for the price that he charges on this block. "We are a dying breed in the sense that there is not much room in midtown for small owned businesses. " In his opinion, all the chains in midtown do not bring the same sense of community or character to the area like the businesses that use to be there.

A great shave, haircut and good company abound at family-owned and operated The Midtown Shave on E49th Street — where father-daughter duo Boris and Luda Mirzakandova draw on decades of barber experience that loyal clients call unparalleled. “I’ve been going to Boris and Luda for twenty years, ” said client Steve Elvin, in the chair on a sunny Monday morning for a quick haircut when we stopped by. “I wasn’t grey when I started going to them, but I don’t blame them for that! ” he laughed. “I’ve followed them to every shop and I’m so thrilled Luda’s gotten to open her own place. ”Luda and Boris, who immigrated from Uzbekistan to the US in 1992, told Manhattan Sideways that it “only took us 30 years or so” to found their own storefront. Boris, a lifelong barber who originally learned the craft as an apprentice back in Uzbekistan — “there were no barber schools, ” he explained — taught Luda the ways around a shaving kit before their family moved to New York. Once there, Boris, and eventually Luda both worked at barbershops around town, where their reputations as thoughtful, precise barbers kept loyal customers coming back. One of the first employees hired by the Art of Shaving, Boris was deemed their first-ever Master Barber — something that Luda adds is due to his careful technique. “People come in and say, ‘your father has the lightest touch — like a feather, ” she told us. “Clients are very loyal to him because once they’re found him, they stay — men don’t like change! ” When COVID-19 hit and many barber shops closed, Luda considered leaving the business altogether. “I would come home and call my dad and say, ‘I think it’s time to change my career, ’” added Luda. “He said, ‘No, you can't — you’re too deep in it. You love it too much. Why don’t you start something on your own — I can help you! ’ — and here I am today. ” Boris and Luda brought on one of their fellow barbers, Gabriel, and took over the space at New York Shave in East Midtown, a barbershop where Luda had worked previously before it shut down in the pandemic. “It took us about a year to get everything ready, but we’ve now been open since June 2022, ” she told us, adding that a grateful flock of longtime customers had migrated with them. Gabriel agreed, recounting a recent day where a client wistfully mentioned their favorite barber. “He said to me, ‘You’re so good, and it reminds me of a guy I used to see on 46th Street and Lexington named Boris…’” said Gabriel, “And I said, ‘He’s right behind you! ’” After over 50 years in the game, Boris said he was happy to maintain these kinds of cherished relationships — and perhaps, along the way, change the culture of beard shaving in America. “In my country, everybody went out to get a shave, ” he told us. “When I got here, nobody shaved! ”