Lo Grasso’s Barber Shop

My dad needed to get a haircut while he was visiting me so we sauntered into Lo Grasso’s while walking around the area. Since all he needed was a simple trim I decided that looking for a place on Unilocal was not worth the effort. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The barber (I forgot his name) greeted us as soon as we walked through the door and took a minute to talk to us about what we were looking for. My father was quite clear on what he wanted, a simple trim to maintain his current style without cutting his hair too short. The barber was a very nice Italian man who joked with us as he went about the hair cut and we quite enjoyed conversing with him. Although we should have paid a little more attention to his technique as we ended up with my father’s scalp showing a fair bit on both sides of his head. He had trimmed the sides down considerably but left the top as is which resulted in a very odd looking haircut. We were quite unhappy with the haircut but paid anyway and left. Luckily, my father’s hair tends to grow out fast so it was back to normal in two weeks time. I shudder to imagine the situation if we had decided to get a haircut here for an important occasion. One extra star for the friendly attitude but Lo Grasso’s disappoints at cutting hair.

This rating does not involve the quality of a haircut here, and is instead a rating of the place as a whole. I cannot comment on the quality of a haircut here because both times I went to get one, I turned away before I even got in a chair. The first time I went, I came in and it seems like there were a lot of people waiting, and the big TV had a steady diet of soccer from Europe (not a soccer fan), so I decided I would try it again later. The next time I went, it was an early afternoon weekday and I was under time constraints, so I asked how long the wait would be and he said it would be no problem getting me in quickly. It turned out that some of the people there were just friends stopping by. The first slow down came when one of the barbers stopped cutting a customers hair for a few minutes to review some fresh lobsters that a fisherman brought in trying to sell them to him. The smell of the cooler with lobsters was strong and ripe, but that didn’t keep him from taking his time and bartering with the fisherman. Even after several minutes had passed, and he had already made his purchase, the lobster cooler (and stink) remained in the shop until he eventually has someone take them out. The second slow down came when one of the barbers had a casual argument with the other barber about what they were watching on TV, and he stopped his haircut to stand in front of the TV, clicking channel by channel searching for something better on. I gave up after a few minutes of this realizing at this pace, I was never going to get a haircut in time, so I left.
I went there because of these earlier posts and the fact that they take credit cards. I left because of the lack of professionalism and my time constraints. I guess that when I go to get a haircut, I’m looking for someone to cut my hair that is more interested in my haircut than their individual pursuits.
My hunt for a place in Southie to get my hair cut and pay with a credit card.

I haven’t reviewed any places in a while, but Lo Grasso’s is worth taking some time out to review. I went here on New Year’s Eve in the AM, simply because it was near the car shop I brought my car to. It was early and a weekday, so I didn’t have to wait to long before I was in the barber chair. Rocky was a nice guy, very talkative but not in an irritating way. I could tell he loved being a barber, and he has plenty of great stories. The haircut was good too.
I don’t live in South Boston, but I’m considering making the trip over to L Street for a haircut from now on.

Rocky at Lo Grasso’s is one fine barber. I was a walk in this morning at about 11:30 and he was able to fit me in for a much needed sheering. He spent about 25 minutes giving me a great cut — using only scissors I might add — and we had a great conversation while he was at it. Rocky’s been cutting hair for 59 years, starting at age 9 in «the old country» (Italy), so I had absolute confidence that he’d do a great job. He asked a couple of quick questions to get started, then knew just what to do. He also does shaves with a straight razor, but I didn’t to hold him up since he had more customers waiting. If I lived in the Boston area I’d be back at Lo Grasso’s every month.