Joanne Rivera is a whirlwind of activity. On a tour of the VIP Elite Barbershop on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., in front of Live Oak Preserve (next to Marco’s Pizza), which she owns with her husband and Master Barber Omar, she is grinning widely and excitedly talking about the new place.
Joanne thinks VIP Elite is the best place in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel to get your hair cut, and she’ll tell you why, while handing you a small stack of the shop’s business cards to hand out to your friends. She rattles off the special services and perks, like online booking (just go HERE to make an appointment), and takes you on a tour of the VIP area in the back that even has a Hollywood-style backdrop.
“Take your picture, feel like a star,’’ she says, which is what VIP Elite is all about.
She pulls out her cellphone, proudly showing off the shop’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. Joanne is a social media maven, firing off post after post, many with deals for clients.
Omar, on the other hand, is calm, cool and collected as he watches from the front of the store. He explains everything he does and why he does it in a soothing, matter-of-fact manner.
“I love cutting hair; I love giving people a great experience,” he says as he meticulously tends to the client in his chair, leaning in for a closer look at his handiwork, then giving one more buzz-by with his razor.
“The most important thing in cutting hair is the details,” Omar says. “The lines have to perfect.’’
This is how it works at the VIP Elite Barber Shop. Joanne is the energy behind the scenes, a marketing hurricane taking her storm to social media to attract and keep clients; Omar is the quiet artist, intent on making sure those who sit in his chair leave happy, and return later.
Fire and Ice.
“She is my nitro,’’ Omar says.
“It works,” Joanne says, laughing.
Working Toward A Common Goal
When Omar and Joanne opened VIP Elite Barber Shop in August of this year, they had one goal — to have the classiest, most classic barber shop in town, with exquisite modern touches — a mix of old school and new school.
When you walk into the place, your first impulse is to grab a seat on the comfortable brown leather loveseats in the lobby. There’s even a bar and VIP area in the back — built by Omar himself and nicknamed the “Man Cave” — where you can grab a cup of coffee or tea. Magazines are spread on a table. The TV is on.
The whole place has a warm feel, with subtle, masculine touches. The floor has a brown faux marble finish, the barber chairs are a rich chocolate color, the lights are soft, and the music is just the right amount of funky.
For a split second, you almost forget you are there to get your hair cut.
“When we designed it,’’ Omar says, “we wanted it to feel like home.”
Once in the barber’s chair, there are a myriad of services in which you can indulge.
A regular haircut will run you $20, and it includes a complimentary hair wash if you want it. For kids, it’s just $15. If you follow Joanne on Instagram or Facebook, you might even be able to catch a deal, like the occasional “$10 Tuesday” special.
Edges and shape-ups are $7, and the same goes for beard trims. Mustache and eyebrow trims are $5, or get it all with the VIP Ultimate package for $35.
And, you’ll also get something you won’t find just anywhere — a hot towel, straight-razor shave for $15 that can take 45 minutes and will leave your face feeling fresh and clean.
It starts with a hot warming cream, followed by a hot towel. Omar will then lay down some shaving cream, using a little bit of the foamy stuff and some of the slick stuff. With a straight razor and a steam machine keeping your face moist and warm (and the pores open), Omar delivers a tight shave, then a cold towel, which he says tightens the skin and properly closes the pores. After some moisturizer and a facial massage, if you haven’t fallen asleep in the chair, you may wonder why you ever shaved yourself in the first place.
“That’s just one of the added touches that we think puts us ahead of the other places,’’ Omar says.
“I moved here from New York and was looking for a place, and this is what makes this barbershop unique, you can come here and relax,’’ said Matthew Arriage, one of VIP Elite’s regulars. “It’s nice when you find a barber shop you really like. Other places I’ve been to, they aren’t interested in talking, they just want your get your money and get you out of there.”
Omar is from Manhattan, and Joanne is from Brooklyn. But, believe it or not, they actually met in Ocala as teenagers. It was love at first sight, Omar says, when as a freshman he bravely walked up to Joanne (a junior) and asked her for a date.
They were married in Ocala in 1995, and settled afterwards in Linden, NJ. Joanne went to school to earn her MBA, and Omar took jobs in retail management at Modell’s Sporting Goods, Sears and Home Depot.
He never stopped cutting hair, though. His son Israel would bring friends over, and he’d cut their hair on the back patio. He also cut the hair of friends and family. He got licensed to be a barber but until moving back to Florida last year, never thought about opening his own place.
But, tired of the retail grind and with the long hours that he said took him away from his family and left him depressed during holidays, Omar did decide to open his own business. He studied plans, conceptualized what he wanted, and decided, “I wanted a classy spot. And, little by little, things started falling in place.”
No one was happier than Joanne, who also works at Citigroup in Tampa.
“He always had such a good eye for it,’’ she said. “He wanted a nice gentlemen’s place, and he wanted to do what he loves.”
Omar built the front counter and the Man Cave himself and the Riveras attended an Orlando salon trade show and after lots of testing, decided on El Patron and Billy Jealousy skin and hair products for their clients. Israel, 19, got his license recently and also works in the salon with his dad. Israel also has picked up his mom’s touch for marketing, suggesting some beard oil and conditioner to a pair of customers following their haircuts.
Since opening VIP Elite, Joanne and Omar say business has been good, and getting better through word of mouth. She says they have 350 clients in their system already, and are working hard to retain them and attract others. Joanne believes she and Omar have something special, something she is happy to trumpet daily on social media. She works to keep Omar and his staff of five barber stylists busy, and their job is to deliver on the promise to give customers an experience worth repeating — and a look they will want to keep.
It’s a simple formula, Joanne says.
“We’re not here to be average.”
VIP Elite Barbershop is located at 20309 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. You can follow Joanne and Omar on FACEBOOK or on INSTAGRAM at vip_elite_barbershop. Online, find them at vipelitebarbershop.com or reach them by phone at 813-994-4057.
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