Barber shop still in style

In 1963, former Las Vegas City Councilman Gary Reese was offered a job cutting hair at the Plaza Barber Shop, 2341 E. Bonanza Road. He accepted the offer with a short-term commitment.

"My partner promised I'd be here a year," Reese said. "I've been here 48 years, and I can't even lift the chair from the floor."

The three barber shop chairs have stayed firmly planted in the same building on Bonanza Road near Eastern Avenue since 1959. Reese took over the business in 1964 and has seen the neighborhood evolve in the past four decades.

"The building was here when Charleston (Boulevard) was a two-lane paved road," Reese said. "It amazed me then how the changes were, and I've been a part of them."

Reese was elected to the city council as the Ward 3 representative in 1995 and was appointed mayor pro tem in 2000. He played a role in the development of the ward's numerous projects, including the restoration of Freedom Park, which now bears his name. Customers often referred to the Plaza Barber Shop as "City Hall East" because it was a place where Reese often socialized with former Mayor Oscar Goodman and other city politicians.

Though Reese is no longer on the city council, he still encounters local politicians and customers he's served for decades. He recalls one story from a year ago in which a man from California came into the shop to get a haircut for his son. The man told Reese he traveled to Las Vegas for his son's first haircut because he wanted the same man who cut his, his father's and his grandfather's hair to carry on the tradition.

Reese said patrons ranging from Las Vegas to Utah and sometimes farther flock to the Plaza Barber Shop.

"A lot of our customers live in different parts of the valley, but they drive here to get their hair cut," Reese said. "I have two to three people every week who tell me, 'Don't retire.' "

The walls and shelves inside the shop where patrons have donated photos, paintings, old soda bottles and other objects reflect the business' history and personality. One particular memento hangs above the middle barber chair: an image of a 1955 red Chevrolet car. It's part of a promise Reese made to his childhood friend and business partner, Derrill Price.

"Gary told me, 'If you come to work (at the Plaza Barber Shop), I'll buy you a '55 Chevy,' " Price said, pointing to the picture above his barber's chair.

Despite not getting the vehicle, Price obliged and started working in the shop with Reese in 1993. Price said he's enjoyed every working day since then.

"In here, everybody's friends," Price said. "I like coming to work when I know I'm going to enjoy it. I've known Gary all my life, and it's been a pleasure to be work with him and be reacquainted with his friends and family."

Price, who also owns a barber shop in Henderson with his brother, has cut hair in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho but calls Nevada home. Price and Reese are Panaca natives whose fathers worked at the same mine together. The childhood friends went to different barber colleges in Utah but have remained close for more than 60 years.

The duo added a third person to the shop, Sonna Ortiz, who has worked with Reese and Price for 17 years. Price said he and Reese have formed a strong bond with Ortiz since they started working together.

"Gary and I are a constant reminder of why Sonna is single," Price said jokingly. "We take care of Sonna, though. We had a little jar for collections when she broke her back and was off work for a while."

The three of them have had their shares of good and bad experiences at the shop together. Reese said though they try, having a 100 percent satisfactory record among customers isn't possible.

"We've had our cuts of hair too short or ones we've left too long," Reese said. "You can't win them all. You just try to make 95 percent of the people happy."

Reese said, however, most customers return because of the camaraderie. He, Price and Ortiz enjoy sharing stories and getting to know customers during the time they spend in the barbers' chairs.

"Derrill and I, we've been told we have a sense of humor with our customers," Reese said. "You have to be able to enjoy coming to work. There's never a day I didn't want to come to the barber shop."

For more information on the Plaza Barber Shop, call 382-5797.

Contact Paradise/Downtown View reporter Lisa Carter at lcarter@viewnews.com or 383-4686.