If you are a man of a certain age, you will remember the old-fashioned barber shops of the past century. It was a place our fathers took us once a month when we were small boys.
For me, it was an old storefront with creaking wooden floors and a little bell that rung overhead when the door was opened. I’m not sure the purpose of that bell, as the whole place wasn’t bigger than 400 square feet with three gentlemen sitting in chairs lining the wall who looked up from their papers and waved at everyone who entered.
Funny how the same three guys were there month after month reading the newspaper. They were always nice enough to let me cut the line while they waited, though.
There was a sense of community in those old establishments. It was a place where business owners could hear about what their competition was doing, and local politicians would deliver a stump speech while sitting down.
Many of those independent establishments with a sense of community are gone now, but there is at least one still in Murfreesboro. It’s the NexGen Barber Shop at 2705 Old Fort Pkwy.
The business was started back in 2000 by a local minister and his wife. NexGen later received national exposure when it was featured on the Bravo TV reality show Tabatha Takes Over in 2013. At that time, the reality host Tabatha Coffey called the shop a “train wreck.” But the old business model was dropped and personnel and other changes were made, establishing NexGen as a successful enterprise.
One of the employees in that episode was Tim Buckner. A few years ago, Tim had the opportunity to buy the shop and to infuse his own eclectic personality into it.
Originally from Omaha, he would cut his friends’ hair for free as a teenager. When he moved to Tennessee, it was suggested he study old-school barbering from some pros with a shop in Fayetteville.
Still living in Murfreesboro, Buckner said it was a grind, but he learned what it truly meant to be a barber. He says working for those old barbers gave him the skills to do what he does today. He didn’t hesitate when I asked him for a flat-top, a haircut many stylists avoid.
From the 19th-century barber station to the posters of Willie Nelson, the shop floor is a reflection of the owner and his interests. The 1957 Oldsmobile Rocket out front is his, too. Tim jokes that he packed up souvenirs from home and brought his “man cave” to work.
One minute you may hear rockabilly and the next minute the blues, country or electronic music. It’s a style that is hard to pin down, but in a word, NexGen is . . . cool.
The barbers use some of the older clippers and attachments such as a central vacuum, if it means a good cut and better service. As we finished up the interview—and my flat-top—Tim gave me a hot towel and a neck shave. That’s an old-fashioned treatment, but standard for these professionals.
But it’s not a complete step back in time. The business used to only take walk-ins, but COVID changed all that. In order to be compliant with state regulations, clients were required to enter by appointment only for a portion of 2020, so a new online registration was put into place. NexGen now accepts both walk-ins and appointments.
The pandemic was a tough time for the shop, as it was for all businesses. Though he had to go through much of his savings to remain open, Buckner attributes the shop’s persistence to employees who worked tirelessly to maintain the new standards.
When I visited, the place was pretty packed for a Thursday afternoon. NexGen is once again fully open to foot traffic, but you can still set an appointment if you like. So give them a call at 615-907-4006, schedule online at nexgenbarbers.com or just walk in.
They will be happy to give you great service no matter how you get there.
