Mario’s Barbershop www.mariosparkridge.com
Mario’s Barbershop - The Interview with Michael Pascolla
What does a Guy’s Guy look for in a Barber Shop?
Ah, you know…the basics. He might ask… Do you use the straight razor? What’s this gig going to cost me? You know, what you can and what you can’t get done. I think the guys want a taste of their freedom, especially the married ones. You know someone has been nagging on ‘em all week so they show up here, they talk about what they want to talk about, how they want to talk about it and in the meantime we fix ‘em up , make ‘em look good and they’re off.
Why Mario’s?
Simple. At Mario’s we give a shit about how you look when you walk out our door. We don’t just sit you down and stamp it out. We’re thinking of a way to make you look better because we know it matters. It’s actually part of what we set out to do each day. Cutting hair is like any craft- you take pride in it and you’ll make a difference. We come up with the ideas for you, unless of course you have your own and then we give you what you want.
What’s your style philosophy?
Personally I think the best men’s hair came in the 20’s, 30, & 40’s. I mean C’mon, Guys looked good then! I don’t care if you’re a guy’s guy or not. It pays to look good. Period. The ladies love it and we know it. Look at a guy like Ralph Lauren, he’s taking design elements of his vintage car collection and using those same details in a dress or a handbag. Maybe it’s the pleat or within the shape, or the saddle stitching but you see it repeat itself. It’s the same for me, with motorcycles and hot rods, it’s shapes & design, aesthetics, no matter what and it translates to the clothes and the haircut you wear. In my business, you’re lucky if you still have hair to cut after a while.
Why a Barber Shop after 30 years of Salon Experience?
When I was a kid, my parents came from Italy, they went slowly with the language in America at first. And they relied on us kids quite a bit. Needless to say I started working at a very young age- shining shoes, busing tables, delivering newspapers. Whatever I could do to make a buck. A Barber shop intrigued me because I remember the Environment where I shined shoes, these guys talking, arguing, philosophizing, yelling, discussing the world and what makes it go around. I learned alot early on and these guys didn’t take pity on me because I was a kid, nope…quite the opposite, they taught me what t was to work hard and they did as well. The Barber Shop was a place where you learned about respect, what the pecking order was and who was who. Besides, how long can a guy listen to women talking about Nordstrom and shoes?
What’s the story of Mario’s before Mike?
The cool thing about Mario’s is that although it has a new persona, it had a lot of history before me. It’s been around since 1957 and the environment is absolutely period correct. From the Barber Chairs to the straight razor shaves, we have guys who have been coming here for 40 years. Can you imagine? In this day and age that’s some pretty serious loyalty and it shows.
What’s the future story of Mario’s?
First, We want to build a solid foundation right here in Park Ridge. From there we envision opening up in a few key cities. In places where the man’s man will live on forever.
