New uptown barbershop combines shears and beers

If you'd like a brew with your haircut, a sleek new barbershop that opened uptown today has your number: The Cut barbershop, in the former Harper's To Go Go spot at 121 W. Trade St., just off Tryon, is serving up trims, shaves, buzz cuts and more in a beer, sports and rock 'n' roll-themed atmosphere.

Husband-and-wife team John and Jill Matthews have spent the last year developing the concept, and they say they've come up with what they envision as the perfect barbershop. "We sat back and erased everything we knew about a barbershop and built one from the ground up," John Matthews said. "We thought beer, sports and rock 'n' roll was really the perfect theme for guys."

Jill Matthews, a barber with 10 years' experience, said she developed the shop based on customer feedback. She also handled interior design, creating a modern environment featuring hues of black and gray, photos of rock artists, two flat-screen televisions that will primarily show sports and business news, Wi-Fi access and computers for customers to use. The Matthewses said they're expecting 80 to 90 percent of the customers to be men, but the shop offers women's services, too. Everyone on the staff has more than seven years experience cutting men's hair, Jill Matthews said. The aim, she said, was to combine reasonable prices and an interesting urban setting: Domestic and imported beers are $2 and $3, and a men's haircut is $18.

Originally from Michigan, the Matthewses moved to Charlotte about a year ago from California, to be closer to family in the South. (John Matthews, who has served as chief financial officer of a California hedge fund, also went to Clemson for graduate school.) They've devoted their life savings to the barbershop and said they were excited to find a location near the center of town, with lots of foot traffic.