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Bringing back real barbershop feel
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Matt Hoffman gets ready to get his hair cut while Just Trim It owner Mike Klasser moves in for the trim. - photo by JASON CAMPBELL
Mike Klasser has more than four decades under his belt when it comes to being a barber.

And now he’s hoping to bring his experience to the men of Manteca – purchasing the “Just Trim It” barbershop located at 400 N. Main Street almost four months ago with plans on eventually merging his Bay Area business with the one right here in the town that he calls home.

While the conversion work that will eventually transform the “Just Trim It” business into a full-scale men’s barber shop – complete with sports pennants covering the walls, and posters like the one of the San Francisco 49ers carrying Bill Walsh off the field adorning whatever open spaces need covering – is still ongoing, Klasser is also working on building a repertoire with his clients and growing a list of repeat customers that he hopes will eventually draw other barbers to rent spaces and make the quaint small-town shop a destination as well as a hangout.

“The thing that I love about this is getting to know the people that come in – building that friendship, and eventually knowing what kind of haircut they want even before they sit down in the chair,” Klasser said. “It’s a barbershop – there’s going to be small-talk while guys are waiting, and we’re hoping to have an atmosphere where people feel comfortable spending time waiting their turn before they get up in the chair.

“We want to give them the best experience they can possibly have, from the service they get when they show up to the haircut they’re happy with when they leave.”

In the day and age of discount hair “salons” popping up just about everywhere, and specialty shops geared towards men with individual TV’s showing ESPN highlights and offering up beer for those old enough to indulge, Klasser hopes his old-time barbershop that just focuses on the basic tenets of taking of their customers and giving them what they want in a haircut will be more than enough.

“Even with the changes we’ve seen, you still have to give a good haircut and people have to want to come back,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and I’m pretty confident that I can give someone the haircut that they want.”

Just Trim It is located at 400 N. Main Street inside the shopping center on the corner of N. Main and Sutter Streets. The business is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, call 823-0923.