Louisville area entrepreneur buys building, opens new barber shop
Ashley Richmer grew up cutting her brothers’ hair, and now after five years in the barbering industry, she’s opened her own shop in Southern Indiana.
Richmer opened Elevated Barber Co., 701 Ohio Ave., in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in mid-June, with a focus on curating a luxury barbershop experience and design.
Richmer bought the 3900-square-foot building, which was previously home to a marketing agency. She invested about $60,000 in its renovation. Clarksville, Indiana-based TGAP Property Services was the contractor on the project.
The shop has exposed brick walls and matte black finishes with leather couches. It has space for up to six barber chairs and two hair washing stations. In total, the renovations took about six months, she said. You can check out photos of the space in the gallery below.
By the time she went to cosmetology school, Richmer was one of the few students with experience cutting men’s hair, and she liked it and stuck with it. She worked in franchise hair salons and later at a barbershop, but she didn’t like the style of quick, in-and-out haircuts.
“I really wanted somewhere where it can be a whole experience, and you can enjoy going,” Richmer said.
She couldn’t find any place like that, so she decided to open her own. Having her own shop has been a goal of hers for about four years.
As owner, Richmer takes clients herself. Another barber works there, but Richmer wants to hire two to four more as soon as possible to accommodate more clients. She said she would eventually like to have walk-in clients because right now, the shop is booking up to two months in advance.
“We love our business — the craft of barbering,” Richmer said. “We love every aspect of that.”
Richmer said she didn’t want a haircut to be another thing to check off the to-do list, but rather something that could be enjoyed.
“A space that you could go and relax and enjoy a high-quality service in a luxurious environment and just enjoy an overall elevated experience from the traditional barbershop experience,” Richmer said. “I think what sets us apart from other barber shops is just how much detail we put into every aspect, every step of your service here.”
Haircuts at Elevated Barber Co. range in price from $25 to $45, and beard trims start at $15. The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
