Port City Barbers is Your Friendly (And Badass) Neighborhood Barbershop

This popular Portsmouth barbershop has made a name for itself and changing guy's looks, and even lives, every day. The owner even got to cut a former president's hair.

Patrick Lavoie is a one-of-a-kind guy who is hard to define, but one thing is for sure: he is a one-man style machine .

Port City Barbers has been on Islington Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for five years and is well-known as THE place to go for an excellent haircut and styling. This is a classic single-chair barbershop and Patrick runs the whole business on his own.

He does take walk-ins, but making an appointment is strongly recommended because he is usually booked from the start of the day right until the very end of it. Maybe it is the excellent work he does on gentlemen style, or maybe it is because he is a great guy to talk to. Probably both.

Who is Patrick that every guy wants to visit to look their best? We had a chat with Patrick about owning his own barbershop business on The New Hampshire Seacoast.

What Inspired You to Open Up Your Own Barbershop?

I think as a young barber in barber school, I was inspired to have my business. Having my own barbershop was always a dream of mine and working for myself. Being a sole owner and create a unique experience of a one-chair barbershop. I wanted to create the atmosphere that I wanted rather than build on somebody else’s idea of what they wanted.

What Do People NOT Know About Being a Barber?

How much we help the client get through tough times in their lives. We work for the people and with the people in so many ways. We cut hair and at the same time we are a sound board for major decisions in their life. Getting married, getting a divorce, buying a house. Major life events that happen. Basically people don’t really realize how valuable that is.

What is Your Best Story from Being a Barber?

I got a chance to cut the hair of former president George H.W. Bush and that was probably the highest moment of my barbering career to date. It was 2007 and I had cut Jeb Bush's hair and told him I want to cut his father’s hair. He told me to write a letter, which I sent and the next week, and the president’s assistant called and made an appointment. I shut down the barber shop and here comes the president with his entourage of security.

Being trusted with his hair showed people that I was good enough to cut the hair of a former president because really nobody touches a president (or has sharp instruments around him.) They may shake his hand, but only people like his doctor or barber can get that close. Everybody wants to make their father proud and mine walked in while I was cutting a former president’s hair.

What is Your Favorite Part of the Job?

The variety is great. I start my day and never know what the day is going to bring. It is like free form sculpture. Basically I get to work, get a coffee and do art all day and talk to great people. I grow these bonds with the guys I work on each day. I’ve been with them when they get their first cat, when they get their first wife and when people pass away. Through so many moments in their lives.

What is It Like Owning a Business in Portsmouth, New Hampshire?

Owning a business around here, as a kid growing up in a small town like Barrington, New Hampshire, is like going to the big city. It seemed unimaginable when I was younger, but owning a successful business here is really cool. Something I dreamed about and now it is a reality.

How Did You Find the Money to Open the Business?

I owe everything to the love and support in my parents. They saw and believed in my abilities to be a barber and they helped with that. They are my biggest fans. I also started a scrapping business called Brass Knuckle Scrappers to raise money, which then turned into the inspiration for my fashion line of the same name. I'm hoping to use funds from that and the other things I do to continue growing and expanding.

What is Next For You and Port City Barber?

Buttoning up the shop. I’ve gone a lot of years without getting into different product lines like other barbershops. Not only am I going to sell Brass Knuckle Scrappers gear in the shop, but also going to offer men’s products. Port City Barbers is already a gentleman’s barbershop focused on adult young men’s haircuts, but I want to give it more life and spruce it up. I just want to bring more flavor to what Port City Barbers has to offer at this point.

Port City Barbers

621 Islington St, Portsmouth, NH 03801 | (603) 427-9027

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