Barber Megan Reesor was willing to travel far to rejoin the Tommy Gun’s Original Barbershop franchise.
Working there in Edmonton out of hair school, Reesor said she fell in love with the franchise and the job. After starting a family led her to leave the position, she moved to Saskatchewan.
But when she saw an opportunity to rejoin the franchise as it expanded in Ontario and York Region, she took it.
“I love everything they stand for. They have a really good head office team,” she said. “It’s always felt more like a family.”
The franchise opened a location in Newmarket at Upper Canada Mall this month. The men’s haircut franchise has 70 stores throughout Canada, offering cuts, hot towel shaves and head massages.
Reesor is currently commuting from Saskatchewan while her family works on a move to the area, relying on a brother she has in Barrie. She said the Newmarket location was selected with input from both her and head office, based on market research.
“It all comes down to the research they put into the area,” she said, adding that they hope to branch out from the location and open stores in the surrounding area. “This is just the beginning.”
The barber said she was unsure what to do out of high school but decided on hair school because she enjoyed the industry and makeup. But she soon found she loved the career choice.
“I loved working with people, getting to talk to people all day,” she said. “Have somebody in your chair, those conversations are just amazing. It is my favourite thing.”
About a week after opening, she said the new business is faring well.
“I feel like we’ve had such a warm welcome from the community. Lots of foot traffic,” she said. “Everyone’s so kind, like ‘welcome to the area.’”
The franchise made setting up easier on her, she said.
“Corporate takes care of that. They do the design, the construction,” she said. “I walked in, and it was amazing, which is very cool. And then we had four days of training before we opened.”
She said the future of the franchise location is exciting, with so much opportunity in the region.
“There’s such opportunity here, there’s so many people, and it’s kind of an untapped market,” she said. “
You can find the shop next to one of the Upper Canada Mall entrances at 17500 Yonge St., unit C7.
