Emporium Barbershop

The small stretch of Saint-Zotique Street West that exists only in Mile-Ex has become a hot-spot for those who value artisanal specialists, with Dispatch Coffee and the Emporium Barbershop opening within twelve months of each other beside well-renowned restaurant Manitoba. Alex Sirois opened the barbershop in June 2013, recognizing the lack of places where a man could get a nice haircut.

Montreal boasts a standard number of old-school neighbourhood barbershops, doing basic cuts, short back and sides. There are also salons that will cut hair for men, but are more orientated towards women. The staff in such salons, Alex points out, have less skill and experience with classic tools. There are a few barbershops still doing straight razor hot towel shaves, but not many, so Alex decided to take on that challenge too. “Years ago I bought a straight razor for myself because I was sick of regular razors,” he says. “I learned on myself and started shaving friends too. Soon I was practicing with clippers and other facial hair cutters. I had a friend who worked in a salon and he taught me some techniques,” he explains. “We started slowly here, so I was able to learn as we went along.”