CHESTER SALON HOSTS ‘BARBER OF THE YEAR’ COMPETITION

Chester’s first citywide barber competition has taken place during Independent Retailer Month to build a stronger community for barbers and stylists

A city centre salon has recently played host to Chester’s first ‘Barber of the Year’ competition.

Nathan Jones, owner of Esquire Gents Grooming was the driving force behind the competition and hosted the event at his popular city centre salon.

Jones set up the competition to strengthen the barbering community within Chester and build relationships with fellow professionals and local business owners. He commented, “The competition has been a great way to bring local businesses together. All the participants showed a great level of professionalism and flair when competing to become Chester’s Barber of the Year.

“Barbering is an incredibly competitive profession and as a career choice it’s seeing a huge surge in popularity in the UK thanks to the rise of male grooming.

“We moved into our location on St Werburgh Street, 18-months ago and since then have begun to establish great relationships with the local community; however, as a team we always feel we can do more. That’s why we set up the Chester Barber of the Year competition – to bring local barbering professionals together and create a real platform for us all to support each other in the future.

“As an independent business owner, it’s also great to have hosted the final during Independent Retailer Month. We’re lucky to have so many unique small businesses in Chester so anything we can do to champion our community and encourage people to support independent businesses is a good thing in my book.”

Nick White, City Centre Manager for Chester’s Business Improvement District said, “CH1ChesterBID’s ‘Love Local’ campaign is running throughout July in support of Independent Retailer Month, so it’s wonderful to see our city’s independent businesses embrace the initiative and push it on even further.

“The ‘Barber of the Year’ competition has allowed independents throughout Chester to come together and support each other, whilst taking part in a citywide contest which promotes creativity and resourcefulness in their sector.

“City visitors expect character and charisma when they visit Chester city centre and competitions like this really shine a light on all the businesses that make Chester so unique.”

Stylist, Dan Arden, 26, based at Number 47 Barbers in Hoole won first place in the competitive barbering competition during a tense final at Esquire, a city centre salon.

Dan took home the converted title after receiving votes from peers across Chester’s fast-growing barber scene. Arden was praised for his ‘precision and innovation’ during the course of the competition.