Pomade and Tonic

[Metro Jacksonville]

Pomade and Tonic



MetroJacksonviller, Farell Stephens has been working on creating an iconic, masculine barbershop with rockabilly sensibilities and old school vibes for a while now.  His project has finally opened and Pomade and Tonic holds traditional barbershop aesthetic and values through a timeless atmosphere.  Join us after the jump for MJ Style section editor, Gerald Joseph's take on the new joint!

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-jun-pomade-and-tonic

[TPC]

A friend of mine has been going there since they opened and he tends to get an Ivy League cut. I've been wanting to get a more traditional/classic style cut so I decided to go there and get a pompadour. They really know what they are doing there and the vibe is awesome, plus they we were a lot cheaper then the place I had been going to.

I highly recommend it.

[John P]

The concept sounds good but in a strip mall on blanding blvd?

[ben says]

^ My thoughts as well. My guess is the location/price made business sense at the time of opening.

[Purplebike]

That looks so cool!

[finehoe]

At first I thought the B&W photo was Pomade and Tonic.  Now that would be cool!

[JaxDiablo]

I've had a cut there, planning a shave this weekend.  Farrell is a great barber, very personable, and knowledgeable.  From the bit I've talked to him about he seems very much about bettering the community and wants to be more involved, which I think is a great mentality for a service such as this. 

I definitely recommend this shop for both cuts and shaves!

[barberofdeville]

To answer a few questions about my shop "Pomade & Tonic". As to "why not springfield"  I looked at Springfield from the moment i got into Jacksonville just over three years ago. Unfortunately i met with extremely high prices, inflexible property owners or worse shady ones. I love springfield and have not given up on her. Future plans are on the agenda for a barber school after we have been established for at least one year. This will not be the only "community center barbershop" we will open.Just the first and we will need well trained barbers in the future. I feel Springfield would benefit from a small town type school offering affordable haircuts by well trained students they can walk to. Why did i choose Lakeshore? Because i found it to be a great community often overlooked where i could set up and was welcomed with a very nice and accommodating landlord as well as property management company to work with. Jeff Middlekauf and his business partner who own (Tide Enterprises) are extremely nice as well as a Sid Jones  (Killashee investments) so much so i would invite anyone looking for an affordable location with high traffic to contact them.  As far as a strip center on Blanding its a very small one located in the heart of Lakeshore just across from where the lakeshore theatre use to exist. It is no differant from places in springfield and is a very small community close to the Fccj campus and just outside of riverside, Ortega, and avondale. It is just after blanding meets park street. 46,000 cars per day pass by and is a direct hub to the interstate as its on the corner of cassett, blanding and lakeshore where it forms a triangle. It is ripe for small business's to come and extremely motivated property owners. If only we could get a coffee shop here where the commuters from Orange park drive daily to grab a cup on the way to work. The lakeshore historic society meets here 2 times a month and we are active participants to any group pursuing neighborhood togetherness. We welcome patrons to come hang out even if they don't need a cut. Bring a beer or two and shoot some pool or proverbial breeze. My clients are my friends all of them.

[WmNussbaum]

Please give Don Redman a well paying job and maybe he'll resign from the City Council. In addition to cutting hair, he would definitely attract many of the nut jobs around town to your chairs.

[barberofdeville]

Please give Don Redman a well paying job and maybe he'll resign from the City Council. In addition to cutting hair, he would definitely attract many of the nut jobs around town to your chairs.

I'm not quite sure exactly what this advertisement for a barbershop has to do with Don Redman (nice attempt to reach though) but i will humor the question/statement.

My reply: I do love some nutjobs. Makes for great entertainment! Of course that's why I'm so entertaining. Some of my closest friends are in fact nutjobs. As Far as Don Redman i would like to blame him and everyone else in government. However it is only ourselves we have to blame as we have given up walking out our doors, greeting our neighbors, getting to know whats going on around us, banding together and taking the reigns ourselves. Politicians would not have the power they possess unless we the populace did not grant it to them. It is not the scorpions fault if we put it on our hand and then while looking away it stings us. It is within its nature. It is our fault for allowing it to happen by lack of knowledge and effort, selfishness, unwillingness to accept fault, and carelessness. We are now in the dire straights era we want our proverbial money for nothing and chicks for free.

One of the main reasons i created a 1400 sq ft shop and only put 4 chairs in it was in order to foster community usage of the premises.i have a 15 minute minimum hair cutting time in order to get the barbers to know each client and make sure they have a good cut. Most of my clients hang out and talk even after the haircut is done engaged in conversation with other patrons they just met. This is not a barbershop for those in a rush. It is a destination. In the past the "Barbershop" was a place where all men walking through the door were considered equal regardless of how much money they made to have a forum in which to discuss the community, weather, etc. All the way back to ancient Egypt. It is only one part of americas current problem that i call the a fast food nation mentality. Get em in get em out has destroyed the very foundations of our free society. I myself have been hit by recession, poor city planning, etc. However its not others fault and I'm stepping up to do my part as should everyone. Help your local preservation society, go to meetings, get out there and change it.

In Closing:
No one talks at walmart, McDonald's, dunkin doughnuts, etc. who does not already know each other prior. Bills Barbershop, Joes hardware, Nate's coffee shop, and Nell's Bakery on the other hand do. I truly believe that i am not the only one that feels this way. So i have opened a barbershop and social club smack dab in the middle of an area others would deem a bad choice due to the fact it is outside the huge chain store centers. It is in the small business districts where mom and pops reside in which "to big to fail" and "I'm alone and my voice means nothing" does not exist. If you want control and things to get better don't occupy wall street, occupy your neighborhood mom and pop. I would love to share more with you on my opinions and also hear yours but that gentlemanly conversation should be in my chair not on this page. I welcome your thoughts and look forward to discussing them with you.

Thank you for listening,
"Pomade & Tonic" President and Founder
Farrell Stephens

[Ninjack]

Farell,
That was an incredibly well articulated, and reasoned, posting, Sir! Your observation regarding the Social/Political "fast food" dynamic is, in brief, spot on. The idea that we sacrifice quality and eschew our liberties in an attempt to remove any thing that smacks of "inconvenience" is a sad commentary on the general state of apathy that has reached epidemic proportions in our communities. We have forgotten our own individual, and collective, power. " Divide and Conquer " Huh? In any event, thank you for providing an atmosphere of genuine kinship to everyone who comes to your establishment, and expert for the service in your chosen field. I sincerely look forward to my next visit to your Shop, as my last resulted in the best "tonsorial adjustment" I,ve had in a decade, with excellent conversation and community, to boot! 

Jack

[ricker]

carshows, concerts, live shows, clips, shaves, billiards, cards, sclap and neck massages - THIS IS how revitalization rekindles! with your flare and style, Farell>  Thanks for hosting our gardening groups!!!

We _ with all whose doors we continue to knock on in the grids between JSO Zone 4 substation/Confederate Pt/Cedar hills shopping center/ RAHD, MHPA, Jax Marina Mile, to FSCJ Kent, and Downtown campus, to Springfield _ we are all glad to welcome you with open arms, regular visits, frequent appointments, and heartfelt congrats!!

Kudos to you sir for taking a chance and exercising some faith, patience, and gratitude!

By the time I return from dairyland, I will definitely be due for another razoring!

[TO ALL WHO HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED AN APPOINTMENT OR WALK-IN_THIS GUY KNOWS HIS BUSINESS, AND HOW TO PAMPER]

See you soon! THANKYOU

[Bella]

One of my favorite places and the only place my son will get his hair cut!  I <3 this joint!!!!

[MissMinda]

Don't let them fool you with the writing here. They also do AWESOME cuts and color for women and young ladies. My daughter and I have both had our hair cut in this marvelous shop. My daughter just had her hair colored here, as well. There is a wonderful sense of community as soon as you walk in the doors.

Make sure you visit their Facebook page and watch the video that was just created for the shop. Great place to go.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pomade-Tonic-Traditional-Barbershop-and-Social-Club/164604040302513

[DDC]

Haven't been to a barbershop in years. Fell into the unisex thing many years ago and since around '06 I have been shaving my head though I have a full beard. I have wondered many times what that straight razor felt like on my scalp LOL.

I think I will come and see you for a shave and trim on this old scraggly beard.