The Barber of the Ville

Sal Giannone in front of his new barbershop in Swarthmore. Photo: Salvatore Giannone

Barbering is in Sal Giannone’s blood. 

According to family lore, his grandfather arrived in America from Italy with just one dollar in his pocket. Barbering let him make a life for himself and his family in and around Conshohocken, where he worked as a barber for 50 years.

“My grandfather would do 30 to 40 haircuts a day,” Giannone recalls. “From 6 a.m. to six at night, six days a week.” 

Giannone learned the business as his grandfather’s apprentice. On his first day, he manned the broom. After a while, with no hair left to sweep up, he sat down to wait while his grandfather worked. “He turned to me,” Giannone recalls, “and he said, ‘Stand up!’ I was like, ‘Why?’ He’s like, ‘If I’ve got to stand up and cut hair, you’ve got to stand up.’”

From Montco to Delco

The first Sal’s Barber Shop opened in Plymouth Meeting ten years ago. Pretty soon, Giannone opened two more. He has repeatedly won Best Barbershop and Best Children’s Haircut in Montgomery County, as well as Entrepreneur of the Year. With clients coming from as far away as Delaware for cuts, he decided to open a fourth shop in Delco at 415 Dartmouth Ave.

Swarthmore is “cute and unique,” Giannone says. “I knew it was a good opportunity for me and my family to open up a business in Swarthmore.”

Sal’s Barbershops pride themselves on offering a variety of styles. “We didn’t want to be known as a white barbershop or a Black barbershop or an old man barbershop,” Giannone says. “We’re one of the only shops where you’ll see an Asian guy sitting next to an older man sitting next to a baby getting his first haircut sitting next to a Black gentleman.” His barbers can give you a flat top or a fade, a classic cut or a modern one. They can even create designs and logos in your hair in full color.

Sal’s also offers shaves, massages, and shoeshines. And there are freebies: “We always have a stocked fridge with juice, soda, and even beer,” Giannone says.” “We also have free snacks and candy.”

The staff is taking precautions to protect customers and themselves from the coronavirus. All barbers and customers are masked. Equipment and chairs are disinfected after every client. Hand sanitizer is available at the front desk and at every station. They’ll even cut hair outside if customers ask. 

Barbering for Good

Giannone believes in second chances. “I’m 14 years sober,” he says. “At one point in my life, I was homeless.” Grateful for his own second chance, he has hired people with troubled pasts and people living in their cars. “I’ve helped them become hardworking, great citizens of the community,” he says. 

He also believes in supporting communities through charitable donations, sponsoring cheerleading and Little League baseball teams, as well as organizing Christmas drives. “I have this army of barbers,” he says. “We do great things for the community.”

The work itself can be exhausting. Giannone is often on his feet for 10 or 12 hours a day, making conversation while trying to figure out what customers want even if they don’t directly explain it. But he loves barbering.

“It’s an art,” he says. “Anybody can just cut hair. We try to make you look the best you possibly can.”