90 Elm Street
West Springfield, MA 01089
The Friendly Barber Shop is a typical small town traditional barber shop centrally located in the business district of West Springfield Massachusetts. This shop was established in 1939 by my grandfather Armand Bessette and after his retirement, owned and operated for 45 years by my father George A. Bessette. This was at one time a six chair shop with a 10¢ Coke machine. It was the first barber shop in the United States air conditioned by natural gas.
After the arrival of The Beatles on the American music scene, the shop almost went out of business. It became the Head & Hoof Shop where George cut hair and sold mail order shoes. When long hair trends abated, the shop returned to its roots becoming The Friendly Barber Shop once again. As of this posting, this shop continues as a traditional American barber shop.
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