Crystal Wise
“Since I went to cosmetology school, I’m skilled in the sheer work more, and [Richard] is skilled in the barber and the shave straight razor stuff. We created a really nice hybrid together that complemented different skills in the barbering realm," says Vanessa, center. Richard stands to her left.
There’s a barber shop off the corner of Magnolia Avenue and May Street that still champions a good straight razor shave — the simple single blade sharpened with a leather strap treatment. In fact, The Cutting Room Barber Salon has an entire section of its business devoted to this tried-and-true cosmetic ritual. Tucked away from the hustle of its main barber stations is a solitary barber’s chair set up to give clients a private relaxing atmosphere while they enjoy an old-school shave — the scent of aftershave balms and colognes thick in the air.
In the shop’s main area are five barber stations with identical black tufted chairs, each a mirror of each other, like desks in a classroom. But the barber stations aren’t the shop’s only similarities to a classroom. The brainchild of husband-and-wife barbers Richard and Vanessa Soto, The Cutting Room is also a training and collaboration center for barbers at any level.
“We’ve been cutting hair since 2012, and ever since the beginning, it’s always been a dog-eat-dog world,” Richard says. “When it comes to barbering, there’s always guys who are the top dog in the barbershop and they have all the clients, and they don’t want to teach you anything, and it’s kind of like every man for themself.”
After five years of banging around different barbershops separately, the Sotos decided to go out on their own with a mission to create a shop that embodies an educational environment.
“Since I went to cosmetology school, I’m skilled in the sheer work more, and [Richard] is skilled in the barber and the shave straight razor stuff,” Vanessa says. “We created a really nice hybrid together that complemented different skills in the barbering realm.”
Soon after going it alone, the duo began to pack the clients in their small space in east Fort Worth. Left with a challenge many business owners dream of, the Sotos set their sights on a new spot that would help them cater to their growing list of clients in a new area of town, the Near Southside. And once they saw the yellow-bricked façade of their current location, it was “love at first sight.” After settling into their current spot, the Sotos didn’t waste time implementing their pay-it-forward style of business.
The Cutting Room was selected an Editor Pick in Fort Worth Magazine's annual "Best-of" issue.
“Everywhere we’ve been — even at the high-end places — they just have a certain style, a certain structure of how they do things, and we believed we could do it better and make a change,” Richard says. “[We’ve implemented] a culture where the ‘king barber’ is always giving back to the new apprentices, making sure that they’re becoming stronger cutters and making us a place where everyone can trust our work because we work together as a team.”
Besides getting a haircut or a shave, The Cutting Room also offers spa treatments like manicures, waxes, and anti-aging facials. The shop is also known for is its unique pricing structure based on experience levels, which rank from least expensive (noob) to most expensive (veteran). Clients can try out a newbie for a discount or go for the gusto with a barber who has met or surpassed the shop’s different skill levels, six in all.
“We try to tell everybody that a lot of locations are like business barbershops,” Vanessa says. “They want to do 30 - 20-minute haircuts, and here we are looking for quality over quantity. We don’t want to push them out. We want to make sure we’re giving them the best that they can get.”
This story initially appeared in the May issue of Fort Worth Magazine.