The year was 2010, and Michael and Jennifer Melching were commiserating with a fellow parent over the frustration a barbershop trip with their sons entailed. The boys would inevitably get bored and irritated, and the dads often felt out of place in typical salons. As the Melchings dwelt on their problem, a potential solution began to take shape: a fun salon tailored specifically to men and boys, so in June 2012, they opened Locker Room. With TVs at each styling station and professional- and college-sports apparel to peruse during downtime, the salon keeps visitors engaged as they sip on complimentary juice boxes or beer and receive makeovers manlier than John Wayne in flannel long johns.

Though services include beautification for hands, the salon specializes in precision haircuts, a fundamental component of its most popular package, the Main Event. This treatment begins with a consultation, shampoo, and hot towel, and then transitions to a haircut and style using Paul Mitchell products. The result is an exterior as masculine as the salon’s interior, which sports crimson walls and black floors, as well as a checkerboard balancing on a repurposed barrel that survived the plunge over Niagara Falls.