Three Chairs

Cuts, beards and hot-towel shaves

A three-chair barbershop at 41 Mercer Street, with every price on this page. Pick a time and the chair is yours.

Book a chair

Open Tuesday to Saturday

The three chairs

A white enamel barber chair seen from behind, a barber in shirtsleeves at work beside it
Barber shop interior, New Orleans, 1935

I opened Three Chairs in 2014 with one rule: nobody gets rushed. A standard cut is booked for forty minutes, so there’s time to talk it through, do it properly and finish with a hot towel.

Three chairs is all the room holds, and each one has its own barber. You’ll see the same face every visit, and they’ll remember how you like your neck finished.

The window chair is mine. Twenty years in, I’m happiest with scissors, longer hair and anything that needs a classic shape. Dee has the middle chair: fades, tapers, line-ups, curls and coils. Tomás runs the back chair next to the towel cabinet, and he’s who you want for a beard, a straight-razor shave or a kid who’d rather be anywhere else.

Walk in if a chair is free, but booking is the only way to be sure. See you on Mercer Street.

MarcusOwner, the window chair

  • Marcus

    The window chair. In Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

    Scissor cuts, longer hair, side parts, slick-backs and anything that needs a classic shape.

    Book with Marcus

  • Dee

    The middle chair. In Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

    Skin fades, tapers, line-ups, and curly and coily hair of every length.

    Book with Dee

  • Tomás

    The back chair. In Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

    Beards, hot-towel shaves, head shaves and kids’ cuts, with a booster seat and a lot of patience.

    Book with Tomás
An empty barbershop with a row of white enamel chairs, mirrors and basins along one wall and a black-and-white checkered floor
A white enamel barber chair seen from behind, a barber in shirtsleeves at work beside it
Two barbers cutting the hair of two seated men in striped capes on a checkered floor

Barber shop, Investment Building, Washington, about 1920

Beard and shave

Hot towels, warm lather and a straight razor, never hurried.

Add to any visit

$45Hot-towel shave, 45 minutes

Book a shave

Haircuts

Every cut is washed, finished with a hot towel and a razor-clean neckline.

Together

$38Haircut, 40 minutes

Book a haircut

Book a chair

Choose what you’d like, who you’d like and when. Your request opens as an email to the shop, and we confirm it by text within the hour.

What you’d like
Who
Which day
What time

Choose a day to see the open times.

Your details

Rather talk? Call or text 555-0142.

A century of chairs

Seven pictures and a film, 1903 to 1960

A barber pole turning, from the film Barbers, about 1959
An open straight razor resting across a leather strop
Razor and strop
A badger-hair shaving brush with a pale handle
Shaving brush
A long marble counter of basins and cabinets under wall mirrors in an empty barbershop
Basins in the Republic Building barbershop, Chicago, 1960
A pewter shaving mug with a spout and a curled handle
Shaving mug, George Richardson, 1818–48
A vintage electric hair clipper with two guide combs
Electric clipper and guides
Catalogue drawing of an ornate hydraulic barber chair with a footrest, standing on a patterned rug
Kochs’ hydraulic barbers’ chair No. 23, catalogue of 1903
An empty, sunlit barbershop with pendant lamps, display cases and a wall of windows
The same shop, emptied, Chicago, 1960

Booking policy and questions

How far ahead can I book? Up to two weeks online. For a date further out, a group or a wedding party, call or email and we’ll fit you in, early if need be.

Do you take walk-ins? Yes, whenever a chair is free. The top of this page shows the next free time in each chair, worked out when you open it.

What if I’m running late? Text us on 555-0142. Up to ten minutes late we still do the full service; later than that we may shorten it or move you to the next free time.

How do I cancel or move a booking? Reply to your confirmation text or call at least 12 hours before. There’s no fee for changing a booking.

What if I miss an appointment? Nothing the first time. After a second missed appointment within six months we ask for a $15 deposit on future bookings, taken off the price on the day.

How do I pay? Card, phone or cash, after the cut. Tips are welcome and never expected.

Do you cut kids’ hair? Yes, 12 and under, Tuesday to Friday. Tomás keeps a booster seat behind the back chair.

Do you cut curly and textured hair? Yes, every day Dee is in. Book a haircut or a skin fade in the middle chair.

Can I bring a photo of what I want? Please do. Show us on your phone when you sit down; it saves ten minutes of guessing.

Do you sell products? A short shelf by the door: pomade, matte clay, beard oil and a good comb, all things we use in the chairs.

Is the shop accessible? The entrance is step-free from Mercer Street, the window chair lowers for transfers, and the restroom has room for a wheelchair.

Is the shop open right now? The striped band at the top of this page turns while the shop is open, the same as the pole outside the door.

Catalogue drawing of a carved hydraulic barber chair with a padded headrest and footrest, on a patterned rug
Kochs’ hydraulic barbers’ chair No. 25, catalogue of 1903

Give someone a chair

Gift cards come in any amount from $25, or for a named service like the full chair. We email one the same day or post a printed card to any address, and each is good for a year.

Order a gift card

41 Mercer Street

On the corner of Mercer and Elm, opposite the library. Street parking is free after 6 pm and all day Saturday, and the 12 bus stops outside the door.

Opening hours

MondayClosed
Tuesday9 am – 6 pm
Wednesday9 am – 6 pm
Thursday11 am – 8 pm
Friday8 am – 6 pm
Saturday8 am – 4 pm
SundayClosed
An old barbershop window with hand-painted lettering and a man resting on the step outside

Questions?

Call or text 555-0142

hello@threechairs.example

We answer while the shop is open, usually within the hour.

Street plan: Three Chairs on the north side of Mercer Street at the corner of Elm Street, opposite the library, with free parking to the south-west and the 12 bus stop outside Three Chairs Library Mercer Street Elm Street Free parking Bus 12 Elm Park
Drawn street plan of the block around the shop.