A popular neighborhood barbershop was targeted by a holiday grinch early morning on Dec. 18.
Barber Shack, located in the Birchwood neighborhood on the corner of Birchwood Avenue and Cedarwood Avenue, was broken into around 4:30 a.m., according to a post made on the business’s Facebook page.
Thousands of dollars worth of tools and cash were taken, not only from the Barber Shack but also from Hair Hut, a salon located in the back of the barbershop.
Jared Jones-Valentine, who owns Barber Shack, said he received a call around 6 a.m. from Debbie Manos, who runs Hair Hut, that the shop had been broken into. The back window was broken, plants were thrown everywhere and money taken out of the Hair Hut safe.
“This was her Christmas money that clients had been giving her and her room was just destroyed,” Jones-Valentine said.
Inside Barber Shack, Jones-Valentine, a former social worker turned barber, described the scene as violent because of the number of items that had been thrown against the walls as well as the number of small items, like trimmers and iPhone cords, that had been taken.
Claudia Murphy, spokesperson for Bellingham Police Department, confirmed officers responded to a burglary call at the business on Wednesday morning. A barber’s razor was also taken.
No suspect has been identified, Murphy said.
Camera footage posted by Barber Shack on Facebook shows a person in a knit cap, face mask and wearing blue tarp with cutouts inside the store at the time of the burglary.
Despite damage, Barber Shack continued to take clients on Wednesday while it cleaned up. Even on the phone with Cascadia Daily News on Friday, Jones-Valentine was tending to clients telling one “you look slick, you’re weekend ready.”
Barber Shack opened in 2017 with the mission to give back to the community. The popular $12 Tuesday cuts allows people of all income status to afford haircuts. Jones-Valentine and his staff regularly partner with nonprofits and after-school programs to provide free hair cuts.
“We’ve done all of this and we’re trying to do right by the community, and then this happens and it just is a little kick in the throat,” he said.
But the Birchwood community and Barber Shack’s clients have stepped up to offer support during this time. One client helped board up the back window that had been broken.
Another community member organized a GoFundMe to help those impacted by the theft. Jones-Valentine said the money would go toward purchasing an alarm system and replacing the tools taken. The money left over will go directly to Manos.
“It’s really shaken her up,” he said. “She gave me my first start when I moved back to Bellingham — she rented me my first location and now tables return, she rents from me here. So it really hit my gut hard when she got hit so bad.”
Jones-Valentine said he was shocked by the outpouring of support from community members. Other barbers across town have also reached out to offer extra sets of clippers and tools.
“I never think what people can do for me, I always think what I can do for them,” he said. “It didn’t even cross my mind people would step up to help until they started and it’s an honor, it’s a blessing.”
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
