Doug Clark: The haircuts aren’t free, and neither is the Barber Pole

So many concerns come with starting a new Spokane business.

The paperwork. The financing. The construction …

And as Chris Banka almost discovered the hard way, in a certain geographic area it pays to be aware of the West Side Rule.

Never heard of the West Side Rule?

Neither had Banka. He’s the 44-year-old owner and operator of the Brickyard Barbershop – a hip haircutting joint that opened its doors at 2802 N. Monroe St. on the last day of May.

Think of the Brickyard as an old-school barbershop with a rock ’n’ roll vibe.

I dropped in on Tuesday to find barber chairs that had been reupholstered with the bright tuck-and-roll vinyl that you’d find in a hot rod.

A bison head (dubbed “Willie Nelson” by a client) stared down at me from a wall of exposed brick. On another wall, a large “Spokane” sign (from an old downtown car dealership, supposedly) added a splash of bright neon.

Brian Setzer rockabilly was jumping and jiving out of a speaker, and several of the barbers, Banka included, were flying enough tattoos to get them booted out of the Marines.

Cool, Daddy-o!

“I wanted something that felt like a traditional barbershop, clean and inviting,” Banka said.

I met this entrepreneur in December. Banka and his wife, Meredith, bought the house at 15th Avenue and Regal Street where I grew up.

My brother, Dave, and I put the Clark homestead up for sale following our mother’s death.

But in a move that still surprises me, Banka also bought my beloved 1967 Oldsmobile station wagon.

That’s right. I sold the Vistaguzzler.

I had it in my mom’s garage. Banka saw it, liked it and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

Which is one of the reasons I wanted to see Banka’s new barbershop. Not only did I get to buy a haircut and a straight razor shave, but I got to visit my old, gleaming red ride. Banka had it parked right outside the Brickyard’s front door.

“It’s a family car,” he said. “We can put the kids in it and go driving. And everywhere you go, people come up and want to talk to you about it.”

Don’t I know it.

But back to the West Side Rule.

One of the most sacred icons to any practitioner of the barbering arts is the red, white and blue pole that traditionally hangs outside the shop.

Banka found his Brickyard barber pole on Craigslist. He was told that it once swirled outside a shop at the Fox Theater building.

A pole with a pedigree – how great is that?

So, a few days prior to grand opening, one of Banka’s buddies assumed the task of hanging the pole on the front of this 110-year-old building.

Out went the ladder. Then came the pole, which the friend set carefully onto the sidewalk.

Then he went back into the shop to get a drill and returned less than a minute later to find …

The pole had pulled a Jimmy Hoffa.

“I didn’t know what to feel,” Banka said. “I was so frustrated.”

I’m no expert on bad karma. But having the barber pole stolen before the shop even opens has to qualify.

Andrew Pedrelli was not about to let that happen.

One of the Brickyard barbers, Pedrelli hopped on his motorcycle and roared off. The search ended a few blocks later when he spotted a tough-looking dude sauntering down the sidewalk with the you-know-what balanced over a shoulder.

Pedrelli confronted the guy. He told him he had to give it back. To which the miscreant replied:

“This is the West Side. You can’t be leaving your (@#!!) on the ground. People think it’s free.”

Well, now we all know.

The standoff didn’t last long. The abductor dropped the pole (onto the grass, fortunately) and soon it was hanging where it belonged.

“I put it up 9 feet so it would be really hard to get at,” Banka said.

Smart. The West Side Rule might also cover stealing anything that can be reached with a screwdriver.

Doug Clark is a columnist for The Spokesman-Review. He can be reached at (509) 459-5432 or by email at dougc@spokesman.com.