Charles Thomas Williams has been cutting hair in the West Grove for 55 years.<\/p>\n
A self-proclaimed \u201clegend in the Grove,\u201d Williams is the sole proprietor of the Charles Barber Shop, one of the last \u2013 perhaps the last \u2013 old-school Black-owned barbershops in Coconut Grove.<\/p>\n
Since 2022, Williams has served his customers from inside a small blue building that stands apart on a quiet stretch of Grand Avenue, just west of Douglas Road.<\/p>\n
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The distinctive blue building on Grand Avenue that houses the Charles Barber Shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Don Finefrock for the Spotlight)<\/p>\n
Over the years, inside this shop and at another location next door, Williams has trimmed thousands of heads, offered up advice on life, watched over the neighborhood\u2019s kids, and been a friend to those just looking for someone to talk to.<\/p>\n
Recently, though, Williams has been living in limbo, unsure whether the cut he bestows today or tomorrow will be his last.<\/p>\n
After 24 years in business, Williams is close to retirement, but his future and the fate of his barbershop are being driven by other factors \u2013 factors outside his control.<\/p>\n
The building that houses the Charles Barber Shop at 3793 Grand Avenue is set to be demolished early next year to make way for a new development \u2013 reportedly a paddle sports facility \u2013 that will stretch across four plots of land along Douglas Avenue.<\/p>\n
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Charles Thomas Williams (seated) with Dr. W. Eugene Jackson, a longtime customer and friend, inside the Charles Barber Shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Jenny Jacoby for the Spotlight)<\/p>\n
Williams, now in his 70s, will have to relocate if he wants to keep cutting hair. But does he? Williams doesn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
Facing a September 30 deadline to shutter his shop, Williams gave what he thought might be his final haircut two weeks ago. \u201cI cherished the moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Williams was back behind his chair last week. For how long, he didn\u2019t know. The property owners have said they need to cut power to the building to obtain a demolition permit.<\/p>\n
To stay in business, Williams will have to find a new location, but relocating would mean starting over, which he did only three years ago. His original shop on Grand Avenue was demolished in 2022, forcing him to move next door.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard relocating,\u201d Williams told the Spotlight recently. \u201cPeople get comfortable and this is why a lot of them don\u2019t want to see me leave because they got comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Originally from Augusta, Georgia, Williams moved to Coconut Grove a year after graduating high school in 1965. With college out of the picture, Williams signed up for barber school. He\u2019s been cutting hair in the Grove since 1970.<\/p>\n
When he first started, Williams said he sometimes worked two shifts a day cutting hair, and upwards of 90 hours a week. After six years, he moved his practice to Brown\u2019s Barber Shop, also on Grand Avenue.<\/p>\n
That arrangement lasted 26 years. Williams then struck out on his own, opening Charles Barber Shop in 2001 at 3757 Grand Ave., where the business quickly became a part of the neighborhood\u2019s fabric.<\/p>\n
For some neighbors, the barbershop provided impromptu daycare, a trusted place where parents could leave their kids if they needed to run a few errands. Others sought out the barbershop as a meeting place, a hangout, and a refuge.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them come in here to get therapy,\u201d Williams said of his customers. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to read a book or look at television. Mm-hmm. They just want to interact. And some will be crying out just for conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others sought guidance, Williams said. \u201cI\u2019m a father figure and a barber. There\u2019s a lot of young men that look up to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
By 2004, Charles Barber Shop was known as \u201cThe Clearing House of Information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Customers could count on the shop as a place to read the local newspapers or to hear word-of-mouth updates on the community. Neighbors dropped off announcements, including obituaries for those who had passed.<\/p>\n
Although the shop is smaller than Williams\u2019 first location, it\u2019s full of character.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of integrity that exists here,\u201d said Dr. W. Eugene Jackson, a longtime customer and friend of Williams.<\/p>\n
Several red Monobloc chairs sit on the classic black and white checkerboard floor. Pots of golden pothos hang from the ceiling, and a poster of Ricky Williams, the former Miami Dolphins running back, covers the back door, though Williams says he gave up on the Dolphins 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
On the wall, a framed newspaper clipping shows the shop owner as a young football player, with the caption that reads \u201cCharles Williams Ready to Ward Off Any Tacklers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taped to one of the mirrors, a printed piece of paper reads \u201cYesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Underneath the mirror, Williams displays a pile of memorial announcements.<\/p>\n
For customers and friends like Jackson, Charles Barber Shop is emblematic of a way of life in the Grove that has all but faded away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to have that type of culture anymore,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n
Back in the day, there were at least seven active barbershops in the West Grove, Jackson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as the neighborhood changed and people moved away, most of those barbershops have shuttered. Charles has outlasted them all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you come from nothing, you are hungry. You want it. I had a rough childhood life, but I ain\u2019t using that as an excuse,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
Williams said he used to open his shop as early as 5:30 a.m. to accommodate his customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe figured we owed it to them to get up, to give them service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Many people have sat down in William\u2019s chair over the years, including some prominent sports figures like Michael Irvin, the former Dallas Cowboy wide receiver turned sports commentator who was part of the 1987 Miami Hurricanes national championship team.<\/p>\n
But it was Williams\u2019 regular customers \u2013 the ones who came month after month, year after year \u2013 who kept the business humming.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them are deceased. But a lot of them were very loyal and we grew together as a family. As time went on, I was cutting the grandkids\u2019 hair,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThey were a bridge over troubled water and why I could be here now. \u201dHow much longer Williams will be standing behind his barber\u2019s chair is uncertain, but whatever the future holds, Williams is sure about this much: \u201cTime brings about the change it brings about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n