On an ever-changing streetscape in North East Hamilton, The New Universal Barber Shop has stood the test of time.

First launched as Stines Barber Shop more than 60 years ago, the business at 40 Court Street, just south of the intersection with Dundonald Street, is an old-style barber's where conversations flow, opinions are firmly held, and friendships are forged.

Willard “Bo” Burch and Coleman “Risky” Robinson bought the three-chair business from Irving Stines in 1964, and renamed it Universal Barber Shop to encourage inclusiveness.

Mr Burch took sole ownership in 1980. He passed away last year, and the business is now owned by his son, Karlos.

Dwayne Simons, 64, has been barbering at New Universal, now a four-chair operation, for a quarter of a century. He ran Dwayne's Barber Shop on Ewing Street for a decade before that.

Mr Simons is joined at the shop by barbers Jeffery Stewart, Isaac James, and Colin McLeod, all of whom hail from Jamaica.

They cut men's, women's and children's hair, opening every day but Sunday, with Thursdays through Saturdays their busiest days when it's common for each barber to handle “nine or ten” clients, Mr Simons said.

He added that the customer base was diverse. “We cut hair for Sri Lankans, people from India, people from Pakistan — the shop is not geared to the African-American cut. It's geared to everyone who wants to come and get a haircut.”

Well-known customers include national team footballer Danté Leverock, as well as politicians Walter Roban and Wayne Furbert.

Mr Simons said: “In the shop, if the walls could talk — a lot of people have come through in the political arena.”

He said he would continue barbering “until I can't do it any more”, citing “the camaraderie with people, the conversations we have, and the long-lasting friendships you make”.

“I have cut for sons, and they bring their sons so I have cut maybe four generations of one family over the years. I like to see them go from one stage, to the next, to adulthood.”

Mr Simons is also the assistant to pastor Deborah Dean at the Rehoboth Church of God in Christ at Khyber Pass in Warwick.

A television in the shop is normally tuned to religious-themed programming sourced from YouTube, with some documentaries and sports scattered in. For four weeks recently, Euro 2024 — the football tournament — took centre stage.

The business is known for its spelling of “Barbar” on the shop window.

Mr Simons said: “It's wrong. It came before I came along. They made a mistake ― but no one corrected it.

“It almost fits with the Jamaican slang, but it's still wrong.”

The longtime barber pondered the reasons for the shop's enduring popularity.

“One is location. That has a lot to do with it. You can come right in off the street. We also held prices at a bare minimum for years. We finally raised them just recently.

“It's also the conversations we have here. They can be heated sometimes, but it's respectful.

“We don't have to agree, but that doesn't mean we have to be disagreeable.

“Everyone has the freedom to express themselves in a positive way in a conversation.”