The buzz on Sprague Avenue

Central Valley Barbershop is an obscure needle in the massive renovation haystack that’s been slowly transforming Sprague Avenue over the years. Small, tidy and clean, this 38-year-old business has weathered the passage of time without change.

Until now.

Today, owner Al Weyen is closing shop for good.

“I’ll miss my customers. I really enjoy them,” Weyen said. “I’ve got people who have been here since I’ve been here.”

Weyen’s customers are dismayed that their neighborhood barber is retiring. “They’re crying!” he said with a chuckle. “They can’t believe it. They’ve even told me to just take a year off and come back.”

A tall, robust fellow of 83, Weyen offers a solid handshake and a warm smile. He graduated from Reardan High School and is the son of farmers who instilled a work-hard-and-achieve-success ethic.

A combat veteran of World War II, Weyen retired from the Navy 46 years ago. He stepped out in a new direction.

“I went to barber school in Seattle,” Weyen explained. “They wanted me to be an instructor. I was supposed to set up a barber school in Spokane.” After arriving, however, he had a different take on the instructor idea.

“When you have an instructor’s license, you’ve got to be in that shop all the time.” Weyen declined the job.

“I started working for the fellow that had this shop, and he was getting ready to retire. I bought the shop from him. I’ve been here for about 38 years. I own the whole setup here, including the beauty shop next door.”

“This was all fields,” he said pointing to the businesses that stretch along Sprague. “This place over here,” he said referring to Sun Rental Center across the street, “that’s where the fruit pickers used to live.”

Central Valley Barbershop oozes masculinity with its comfortable lounge chair, television, two benches, outdoor magazines and one barber chair. Over the years it’s become a community gathering spot.

Weyen gave free haircuts to residents of a retirement home. For customers who “were down and out,” he’d go to their homes to cut their hair. “All my old customers, I took care of them like that.

“A lot of them were out of work or something and I’d cut their hair for free. I had an income. I didn’t care. This was a hobby.”

Weyen’s approach to “business as a hobby” was one reason for his success. “I’ve always enjoyed people. At one time I had three barbers in here. I’d start early in the morning and never sat down all day. I’d cut hair all day long.”

Another reason was his knack for shooting the breeze.

“Anything new, I always investigated it extensively. It gives you something to talk about with the customers,” he said.

“I had one barber working here, and he never talked. I’d tell him, you’ve got to talk to these people, you don’t have to tell the truth, just talk,” he said.

The business was also a moneymaker for his two sons. “They worked here and paid their way through college,” he said. “When they got done with college, they didn’t owe a dime to anybody.”

Plans to visit his sons and take a fishing trip or two with them are on the agenda. One son is set to retire in three years. “I thought I better retire before him,” he said.

Although obliging, Weyen has firm ideas about business. When asked about Spokane Valley’s new city status, he grumbled, “I didn’t like that. Everybody was coming in here saying this was a good deal and we’re going to have a lot of money and I said, just you wait.”

He pointed to the increase in business and license liability insurance. “Before we had to have $100,000 for business liability; we’ve got to have $1 million now. License is $300,000 minimum liability just for a plain old haircut,” he said. “I got a bill for my liability insurance and it was $1,000. That’s when I said I’m done with this.”

His complaints about the city are straightforward: “They’re running the little guys out of business,” he said.

He considers a visit to the barbershop as a sort of a graduation into manhood. “Men used to always bring their boys to the barbershop. They don’t anymore. The wives take them to the beauty shop, and they’re growing up not knowing what a barbershop is. It’s a change of times.”

But when asked if he believes this will change, Weyen said: “I think we’re going through a transition period. I think it’ll turn and come back. I don’t mind the progression of things. You’ve got to face it.”

Twenty years ago, Weyen lost his wife, but an optimistic spin kept him going. “When bad things happen I tell people to get a job and go at it. If you lie around and think about it, first thing you know you’ve got other problems.”

He lost part of his stomach to a war injury and later had a knee replaced. Still, Weyen is active and healthy. “I go dancing two or three nights a week,” he said. “… Nothing keeps me from doing what I want to do.”

His advice to the rest of us is simple. “Just keep moving,” he said, “and take care of your health.”