NEWS
8A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MULTICULTURALISM
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2006
Building community one haircut at a time
Da Shop works to provide more than a great haircut
Jared Soares/Kansan
Jared Soares/Kansan
Le'Ona Lytes, 16-year-old Lawrence resident, gets her hair dried in the mural room of Da Shop. The hair salon is the only African-American owned, downtown Lawrence business.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JARED SOARES
From the outside, Da Shop,
1109 Massachusetts St., looks like
a barbershop and salon that only
caters toward African Americans.
"We do specialize in black hair, but we do all types of hair and not many people know that," said Janine Colter, stylist and proprietor of the only African-American-owned downtown Lawrence business. What has been Da Shop's main concern since it opened in the
spring of 1999 is providing quality haircuts in a friendly environment
"I'm a doctor man. They come to me to get healed; everybody feels better once they get a cut from me," said Tim Nelson, a barber at the shop, who goes by Nellie.
Da Shop has four barber chairs but only two employees, Colter and Nellie.
The atmosphere of the shop is one that emits a vibe of community that transcends skin pigment. The sounds of the Kansas City, Mo. radio station Hot 103 Jamz fills the air of Da Shop as
waiting customers create a cacophony of conversation from current events to high school football. Regulars often visit during lunch breaks. Da Shop specializes in haircuts, but the downtown Lawrence business offers a venue for fellowship with a friendly neighborhood feel.
"I feel blessed that we have this central location, it's a place where people can fellowship and have a voice," Colter said.
- Edited by Lindsey Gold
Jared Soares/Kansan
Victoria Newman, 4-year-old Lawrence resident, thanks owner and stylist Janine Colter for styling her hair. Colter, owner and stylist of Da Shop said that the shop strives to provide quality hair cuts.
Jared Soares/Kansas Da Shop barber Nellie, left, and customer AT share a laugh with a waiting customer. "The one rule we have is to have fun," said Janine Colter, owner of Da Shop on the working atmosphere.
Jared Soares/Kansan
Red Lyon Tavern 944 Mass. 832-8228
A touch of Irish in downtown Lawrence
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