Ashley Collins|Naples
Editor’s note:The Naples Daily News Father of the Year contest invites reader submissions, and a committee will selecta winner from those nominees.
Barbers Bob and Andrew Johns bond over sports, fishing andwell-done haircuts.Just don't ask them who the best barber is.
"Me," Bob Johns, 55, said jokingly during a break between customers on a Thursday afternoon inside theNaples Park Barber Shop.
"Oh no!" his son, Andrew Johns, 32, was quick to say.
He chose a more diplomatic answerand said all barbers bring their own special talents to the family-owned business, tucked inside a small shopping plaza off U.S. 41 and 103rd Avenue North.
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"One of our barbers is great with clippers, I'm good with scissors, and Bob ..." Andrew Johns started saying.
"I come in just to entertain," his father said, finishinghis son's sentence.
The fun-loving father-son duo spendhours at the shop, cutting hair, shaping beardsand talking to customers about everything from football to politics.
"Bob's haircuts are known to take a little longer because he spends the majority of time talking about sports, more so than cutting hair," Andrew Johns said teasingly.
"I'm educating them," his father responded, smiling.
Days before Father's Day, the two were cutting hair side by side, chatting with regulars as ESPN playedin the background. The Johns family opened up the barber shop inNaples Park only three years ago, but judging by all the memorabilia on the walls, it looks as though they'vebeen there for decades.
A red, white and blue barber's pole hangs by the storefront.An array of sports memorabilia (hats, flags and jerseys)from numerous teams, including the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles,decorate the walls inside. Regulars often bring their own memorabilia to addto the collection.
Antique items such as a shoe shine box and a 1905fishing rodare displayed near shelves holdinghair products for sale. Family photos, some black-and-white, are scattered across the shop, including some of a younger Bob Johns when he coached youth football. One shelf holds several trophies,earned by his four sons over the years.
Boband his wife, Mona Lisa Johns, own the barber shop. Previously, they ran a similar shop for three years in Golden Gate, but when money got tight, they closed that shop in 2013.
Bob Johns worked as a barber at various shops around town before landing this space.He always wanted a successful family business—a place where generations of his family worked and customers felt like family.
"I want to be able to come here when I'm 75," he said.
Bob Johns started cutting hair at a young age. There was a barber shop near his home in Philadelphia.Before earning the shop's trust with a scissor, Bob Johns swept the floorand made a quarter to 50 cents each time.
He made $5 on his first haircut when a barber didn't show up for his shift.
"I thought it was a million dollars," Bob Johns said.
His passion for cutting hair and connecting with people followed him through adulthood, even though the Philadelphia native also pursued other interests, such as real estate and coaching football in Naples. The Army veteran, who served six years as an airborne medic, coached Naples High School football for eight years, and fivefor the youth football team in Golden Gate. He hasspent the past 10 years officiatinghigh school and youth league football games.
But his favorite job, he said, is working behind the barber's chair.
His son Andrew Johns, also a father,said he looks up to his dad and loves working alongside him.
"A few people can say they get an opportunity to work next to their father, literally, and have a good time doing it," he said.
"With some of my kids I don't know what they're doing because I don't talk to them enough," said Bob Johns. "But with Andrew, I talk to him every day and know what's going on in his life and his daughter's life."
Bob Johns has six grandchildren. On Thursday, his 13-year-old grandsonJake Johns helped around the shop.
"We're family. It's what we do," Bob Johns said.
As a kid, Andrew Johns said, he'd watch his dad cut hair and thought it was pretty cool and wanted to follow in his footsteps.
He went on to receivehis barber's certification around 2007, a couple of years after graduating from high school.He worked in a few barber shops around town before going to work for his dad.
He also works in residential real estate, after years spent in commercial, but finds himself spendingmore time at the barber shop.
"I respect what he does,and respect that he's a dad and a husband," Bob Johns said of his son. "And in turn, he does really good hair."
The fun family atmosphere is what keeps bringing back customers such as Kevin Scarff, 64. He had his hair cut Thursday by his son, Taggart Scarff, 23, another barber at the shop.
"Bob is a great storyteller," Kevin Scarff said. "When you come in here, you're hanging out with the guys. There's a lot of comradeship going on here."
Bob and Andrew Johns spend most weekdays working together. Sunday is their day off, andthat usually means more family time. The Johns family hopesto spend Father's Dayat the beach.
"I think all of us in life takethings for granted. But when we step back and recollect, you realize how fortunate you are," Bob Johns said."I've been blessed with a lot in life."
Looking around his barber shop Thursday, he said:"It's a great place to be."
