Peek inside Austin’s first 2-story H-E-B, now open

Daddy’s dwelling! The barbershop from San Francisco opened a satellite tv for pc out in Austin on February 3, marking the primary time the LGBTQIA+ gathering place has moved out of California, from one queer haven to a different, and nearer to its founder’s roots.

Few neighborhood areas — queer or in any other case — have reached the heights of a barbershop, a web site of bodily and social betterment with none vices past a very good lather. However one of many issues that makes the barbershop such a secure area is its area of interest clientele — males within the neighborhood. At Daddy’s Barbershop, doorways are open to “Texans of all genders.”

Like many different queer staples, the primary Daddy’s turned fashionable in San Francisco. Dallas-born founder Arlen Lasater, who was already deeply entrenched in advocating for LGBTQ security as a safety director for the Folsom Avenue Honest, turned to barbering however saved his protecting perspective, and other people flocked to the varied area. Now the barbershop is situated in Palm Springs and Austin.

“I believe it turned a haven for LGBTQ+ locals,” mentioned Lasater in a press launch and on the Daddy’s web site. “More often than not, it feels extra like a neighborhood hangout than a enterprise.”

Terri and Timmy Lasater, Arlen’s niblings (that’s the gender-neutral time period in your sibling’s children), have additionally joined the enterprise as co-owners and operators. They’re near household in Houston and Austin (having labored within the latter for 3 a long time) in addition to good eats; The brand new barbershop tops Cisco’s Restaurant Bakery & Bar on East sixth Avenue, recognized for Tex-Mex consolation meals and a retro diner environment.

The constructing was constructed in 1914, and Daddy’s is utilizing some historic supplies to boost the store, together with reclaimed wooden from two fires: the Capitol hearth of 1983, and the Texas French Bread hearth in early 2022. Native artist and trans rights activist Xavier Schipani took care of exterior decor with a mural, whereas the inside stays glossy and semi-industrial.

“I’ve at all times thought-about Austin a sister metropolis to San Francisco,” mentioned Lasater. “Each have a distinguished LGBTQ+ presence and a tradition of radical acceptance — that’s a tradition Daddy’s thrives in.”

Daddy’s is ensuring to share that thriving spirit via neighborhood donations which have totaled at the least $250,000 since its founding, for supporting LGBTQ+, homeless, and extra native nonprofits.

“Arlen’s at all times been part of preserving individuals secure,” mentioned Terri Lasater. “Whether or not it’s via his work or donations, it is essential that he does what he can to guard his neighborhood.”

Visitors can anticipate the next providers: “high-and-tight haircuts, beard/goatee trims, beard sculpting, scorching towel shaves, bald/pores and skin fades, buzzcuts, scissor cuts, gray-blending, line-ups, chest trims, again trims, clean-ups, and extra.”

Daddy’s is open at 1511 E sixth Avenue, Monday via Saturday, from 10 am to six pm. Extra info, together with hyperlinks for reserving and job functions, is out there at daddysbarbershop.com.