Meet Travis Ayers | Owner Bellevue Barbershop Zach Bryan personal barber

We had the good fortune of connecting with Travis Ayers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Travis, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I think the success of the Bellevue Barbershop has come from a meticulous hiring process. Each barber at my establishment at the earliest parts of their careers grabbed my attention. They all showed up, asked questions, cut hair, swept hair, conversed with patrons, and did everything I asked of them. We all have the customers best interest at heart and want this to feel like a community of just people who will always find at least one thing in common and feel that they are in the best hands possible.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We started in September of 2019. It definitely was not easy. When we first opened I always wanted to be an appointment based barbershop. Bellevue was kind of a blue collar town at the point and people wanted their hair cut at their convenience; while not grasping that coming in and sitting around for 2 hours in a rush is not convenient. A lot of people would get rubbed the wrong way when mentioning appointments. Other Barbershops around frowned upon it too. Until Covid-19 hit. It was struggle to get through that time. Once the Governor opened us back up barbershops were allowed to be “appointments only” We appeared as seasoned vets at this point. Business started to boom. Things progressed, more things were hanging on the wall, and more familiar faces. April of 2022 we won Best Barbershop in Cincinnati. Which brought alot of attention to us. We repeated that accolade for 2023. We’ve had charity golf outings, held educational classes, and other things to always bring people together. We are the #1 recommended barbershop on Reddit. All of these things have lead to full books of business for all 5 of us even when “the industry is slower” and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First thing is definitely a haircut at the Bellevue Barbershop. If you look good then you feel good. From there I’d go to Findlay Market. Maybe get a goetta, egg, and cheese sandwich from Eckerlin. From there I’d grab a coffee from Deeper Roots to fuel a little trip to the Cincinnati Zoo. Afterwards I’d have to make a stop for some Cincinnati Style Chili. My favorite is Camp Washington but if it wasn’t convenient I’d go to skyline! From there I’d head home and get ready. Maybe go across the river and check out the amazing Cincinnati skyline in the dark. Finish the night at Jeff Ruby’s precinct. Dreaming of a day like this ha ha

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate this to the guys at my shop (Sam, Mike, Andrew, and Reese)

They trust me that I will always make the best decisions for our community based barbershop. I always keep the mindset that we are all the same. We have an open line of communication. If I’m lacking on something they’re making a mistake by not telling me. Criticism is a great thing. At the end of the day the decisions I make directly affect their livelihood. We all have the same motto to be a little better tomorrow than we were today. My name isn’t on the shop and I never want them to feel like they’re working at achieving my dream. I consistently ask if there’s anything they’d like to apply for their own touch. We push each other in positive ways and the barbershop is about building up the people around us.

Website: bellevue-barbershop.com

Instagram: @bellevuebarbershop

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/bellevuebarbershop

Image Credits
Louie Nice Jeff Dean