Justin Kyle has a simple message for anyone walking past his new barbershop at 105 N. Main Street in Spring City:
You’re welcome to sit on the bench.
Not just customers. Not just people waiting for a haircut.
Everyone.
The handmade wooden bench outside the shop is a piece Kyle commissioned specifically to encourage people to slow down, sit for a while, and feel welcome in the neighborhood.
“That bench and this barbershop are for the community,” Kyle said while trimming client John Drago’s beard.
He laughed as he described watching people hesitate to use it.
“My cameras catch them all the time,” Kyle said. “People will only sit there when we’re not here.”
For Kyle, the shop isn’t just there for haircuts. It’s a place where neighborhood kids can stop to grab a water or a snack. It’s a place where conversations between strangers can turn into friendships, mentorships, or new opportunities.
It’s a place to build community.
“You don’t have to spend money to be a part of this,” Kyle said.
A Barbershop Built Around Mentorship
Kyle’s philosophy is rooted in his upbringing in Brooklyn, where he spent much of his childhood inside a neighborhood barbershop in Crown Heights.
Growing up with separated parents and a father who worked long hours, Kyle said the local barbershop became a second home.
“I would get off the bus from school and the guy that owned the shop would make me come in,” Kyle said. “He’d have me sweep the floors, take the trash out, help the barbers with whatever they needed.”
“He would always tell me, ‘You're not going to go and just play video games. You're gonna come over here and learn something.’”
The experience exposed him to adults from all walks of life — business owners, tradesmen, entrepreneurs, and community leaders — who helped shape his understanding of adulthood and responsibility.
“You’re gonna shake hands with people and you’re gonna be a part of the community,” Kyle recalled being told as a teenager.
Now, 20 years into his barbering career, Kyle said he wants Neighbors Barbershop to recreate that same environment for young people in the Spring-Ford area.
“I want it to be a place where kids are comfortable,” he said, noting that teenagers today don’t have many environments where they can learn from adults outside their family.
That mentorship role is already taking shape inside the business.
Fifteen-year-old Rocco Piantone, who helps out around the shop, said he first met Kyle as a client years ago before eventually starting to work alongside him.
“He means something to me,” Piantone said of Kyle. “He’s very welcoming and gave me an opportunity to make some money.”
Kyle described Piantone as one of many young people he hopes the shop can positively influence.
“I think that's just the coolest part about this place, man,” Kyle said. “I get to give him a safe place where he's out of his mom's hair. He's not getting in trouble.”
Instead, Piantone can spend time in the shop listening to conversations about careers, business, and life experiences from both barbers and clients.
“He’s learning something,” Kyle said.
“You’re Not Just Getting a Haircut”
Before opening Neighbors Barbershop earlier this month, Kyle most recently worked at Iron’s Edge Barber Company in Phoenixville and previously helped open Unchained Barbershop in Kimberton.
Now working out of his own shop, Kyle said Neighbors focuses on “traditional barbering in a modern era,” offering straight-razor work, hot towel shaves, beard trims, fades, and classic cuts while trying to keep prices affordable for local families.
“We’re neighbors here,” Kyle said.
For customers like Drago, the appeal goes far beyond the haircut itself.
Drago, who travels roughly 45 minutes from where he lives to see Kyle, described the atmosphere inside the shop as something increasingly difficult to find.
“You can get a haircut from anybody,” Drago said. “But here, man, they pay attention to every detail.”
Drago said he first began getting his hair cut by Kyle more than a year ago.
“He not only did it in record time, he was so thorough,” Drago said. “Nothing felt forced. You could just sit there and talk.”
Drago said he also appreciates Kyle’s effort to create a welcoming environment for young people who may otherwise struggle to find positive gathering spaces.
“When we were kids, we never had a place to go grab a soda or hang out,” Drago said, recalling how boredom sometimes pushed kids toward trouble.
He sees Kyle’s vision for the shop as an effort to change that dynamic.
“This dude just understands the clientele, and he’s trying to provide a solution to a problem that hopefully never exists,” Drago said. “He’s making sure that it doesn’t.”
Investing in Spring City
Kyle said Spring City’s growing sense of momentum played a major role in his decision to open the business there.
A Royersford resident, Kyle said he was drawn to what he sees as an ongoing revitalization effort along Main Street.
“I just love Spring City and Royersford,” Kyle said of the Twin Boroughs. “It's like the same place to me.”
He pointed to businesses like The Gem, Alisan Road Mercantile, and the newly reopened Tuned Up Brewing Company as examples of the energy helping reshape the borough.
“There’s a revitalization happening in Spring City right now,” Kyle said.
The shop itself is now part of that effort. Kyle said he and his family have spent months renovating the space.
“We put some serious work into this place,” he said.
Kyle also plans to incorporate the community directly into the shop’s decor. After Alisan Road’s Summer Photo Project concludes, he plans to select five photos from the program to enlarge and hang throughout the barbershop.
“I think it's going to represent the neighborhood,” he said.
Kyle is also tentatively planning a grand opening event at the shop on June 13, featuring free food, fun, and an opportunity for residents to connect.
A Gathering Place on Main Street
Inside Neighbors Barbershop, conversations flow freely between clients, barbers, and whoever walks through the door.
During the interview, topics bounced from local history and business growth to investing, music, parenting, and community life.
Kyle said that atmosphere is intentional.
“The craziest part about a barbershop is you come here to look better, but there's people in here who could change your life,” he said. “Every 30 minutes is a different person.”
Spring City Borough Council Vice President Chris Yocum, who happened to be getting a haircut from barber Tim Graham during the interview, said he believes the business will “help the community out tremendously.”
“Listening to you guys, I’m loving what I’m hearing,” Yocum said. “I think it’s a great addition to Spring City.”
The easy back-and-forth inside the shop seemed to reinforce the kind of atmosphere Kyle aims to create.
“With the experience I've had here thus far, you already have a regular,” Yocum said with a smile.
For Kyle, that sense of connection is ultimately the goal.
“We’re here,” he said. “We’re part of the community, and we’re hoping the community embraces us too.”
