Its official: Goodbye to The Woo Barbershop

[AUS-97HORN 11878]

I looked, didnt see anything on DT.

But  KXAN is reporting The Wooten shop must close down by June 15  and the barbers are talking about how, even if they return, the rent would be so outrageous that they would be forced to charge an astronomical amount per haircut to stay in business.

Quote

“It’s so sad, because The Drag has changed so much,” Kremer said. “That’s a piece of really UT campus that’s going away.”

While the shop may no longer have a presence on The Drag, the barbers are hopeful the change will present new opportunities. They’re currently exploring operating out of a trailer or partnering with the neighboring salon that also has to relocate, Alante Salon.

“Change happens and is kind of needed,” Nelson said. “We’re growing.”

The Wooten Barbershop said they will be updating their website to let customers know when and where they’re operating following June 15. Wherever they go, it’s certain loyal customers like Boswell will be sure to follow.

“Doug’s already got a promise to give my first child his hair cut,” Boswell said. “So whenever that happens, he’s already got that bookmarked.”

It sucks, but thats a direct result of the real estate valuation going through the roof the last 2 years.

[Brisketexan 105580]

4 minutes ago, AUS-97HORN said:

I looked, didnt see anything on DT.

But  KXAN is reporting The Wooten shop must close down by June 15  and the barbers are talking about how, even if they return, the rent would be so outrageous that they would be forced to charge an astronomical amount per haircut to stay in business.

It sucks, but thats a direct result of the real estate valuation going through the roof the last 2 years.

All eras come to an end.  Got my hair cut there for years, from my first haircut at UT to talking to the guys about my new marriage.  Then went to the Sportsman on 38th for years, became good friends with one of the barbers who ended up cutting my daughter's hair for a while.   We attended his funeral.  Then to Pete's flattop shop, then when Pete had a stroke and the shop shut down, followed Philip to Bob's barbershop on N. Lamar.

Old-school barbershops are hard to find, but they're still around.  Hope the Woo finds a place to re-open.

[mdmost 43309]

A great throwback to the past. Loved getting the back of my neck shaved with the straight razor back when I was a student in the mid 90s. Though when they added the massage glove, that was a touch weird. 

[smuggs 9354]

5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Then went to the Sportsman on 38th for years, became good friends with one of the barbers who ended up cutting my daughter's hair for a while.   We attended his funeral.  Then to Pete's flattop shop, then when Pete had a stroke and the shop shut down, followed Philip to Bob's barbershop on N. Lamar.

Note to self - 

Don't go near Brisket's mullet with a pair of scissors. 

[Jerry Callo 8831]

[DigglerontheHoof 21286]

Damn.  The Woo Doo was my go to in college.

RIP

[Pato del Muerto 52884]

Those times I waited for you seem so long ago
I wanted you far too much to ever let you go
You know you never got buy, I feel it too
And I guess I never could stand to lose
It's just a pity to say goodbye to woo
Goodbye to woo-ooh

 

 

id have sworn that was go-gos but in looking up the lyrics it’s Scandal. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Pato del Muerto

[Brisketexan 105580]

1 minute ago, smuggs said:

Note to self - 

Don't go near Brisket's mullet with a pair of scissors. 

Meh.  I'm just old.  I have always gotten my hair cut by old men, older than me.  Old people tend to die, film at 11.

Man, I loved the Sportsman in its heyday.  Got my hair cut next to James Michener (last haircut of his life, he passed away a couple of months after, we had a great conversation), a couple of Texas Supreme Court justices (gave us time to talk shop), a coupla federal judges, and I remember when they hosted a "client appreciation fish fry" -- one of the guys had caught a bunch of crappie, and invited the customers over, during the week, for beer and fried fish.  A shitload of guys hanging out in the parking lot, drinking beer and eating fried fish on something like a Thursday at noon.  And again, the crown included a bunch of local leaders and such.  It was good stuff.

[Hanrahan 1306]

27 minutes ago, mdmost said:

A great throwback to the past. Loved getting the back of my neck shaved with the straight razor back when I was a student in the mid 90s. Though when they added the massage glove, that was a touch weird. 

Wow - I hadn't thought about the straight razor neck shave and massage glove in 20 years.  More places should do that.

[Brisketexan 105580]

1 minute ago, Hanrahan said:

Wow - I hadn't thought about the straight razor neck shave and massage glove in 20 years.  More places should do that.

Man, almost forgot about the chrome electric massage glove.  Total throwback.

[Macanudo 13092]

12 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Man, almost forgot about the chrome electric massage glove.  Total throwback.

The chrome one was only for "special" clients in the back room.

[Brisketexan 105580]

5 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

The chrome one was only for "special" clients in the back room.

Feelin' good is feelin' good, man -- no apologies, no ragrets.

[dcbc 14569]

I've always tried to find old school barber shops.  Last one I found in Austin was on my last day at UT before graduation.  I had a nasty hangover and ended up at some shop near Westlake on 2244.  At the end, he did the hot soap and straight razor on the neck, followed by the massage glove on the neck.  Hangover gone.  Wish I'd found that place sooner. 

 

After I moved to east Texas, I bounced around between a few places, and when one of them got too hard to get an appointment with the principal barber (I don't like second chairs), I found myself in this old, downtown barbershop with a barber who had to be pushing 90.  The haircut was alright, but when he hit my neck with that hot soap and brought out the straight razor, I suddenly noticed how bad his hand was shaking.  He did fine, but I counted myself luck not to be skinned and found a place where I could walk in, talk less, pay with a card, and not have to worry about whether I would escape without a deep scar.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by dcbc

[Brisketexan 105580]

Just now, dcbc said:

I've always tried to find old school barber shops.  Last one I found in Austin was on my last day at UT before graduation.  I had a nasty hangover and ended up at some shop near Westlake on 2244.  At the end, he did the hot soap and straight razor on the neck, followed by the massage glove on the neck.  Hangover gone.  Wish I'd found that place sooner. 

 

After I moved to east Texas, I bounced around between a few places, and when one of them got too hard to get an appointment with the principal barber (I don't like second chairs), I found myself in this old, downtown barbershop with a barber who had to be pushing 90.  The haircut was alright, but when he hit my neck with that hot soap and brought out the straight razor, I suddenly noticed how bad his hand was shaking.  He did fine, but I counted myself luck not to be skinned and found a place where I could walk in, talk less, pay with a card, and not have to worry about whether I would escape without a deep scar.

Love it, and love those kind of places.

Growing up in Houston, my dad and I tended to frequent barbershops that had Playboys sitting out on the magazine table, and/or ran a bookmaking operation out of the shop (true story: one time we showed up to get a haircut, and the shop had been shut down by a police raid).  For years, we ended up at a shop that was a combination barbershop/trophy shop.  You could get a haircut and a set of trophies for your youth soccer team at the same time.  That's the stuff.

[texasdago 7591]

Its sad to see it go but, man, that building was a dump in the early 90s.  I'm surprised it hadn't fallen over sooner.  This is one of those, "surprised it took that long" but, yeah, a bummer.  I used to get a Woo Do, too.

http://www.goodallwooten.com/

[dcbc 14569]

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

Love it, and love those kind of places.

Growing up in Houston, my dad and I tended to frequent barbershops that had Playboys sitting out on the magazine table, and/or ran a bookmaking operation out of the shop (true story: one time we showed up to get a haircut, and the shop had been shut down by a police raid).  For years, we ended up at a shop that was a combination barbershop/trophy shop.  You could get a haircut and a set of trophies for your youth soccer team at the same time.  That's the stuff.

I don't know if he's still there, but the best haircuts of my life were from Charlie the Barber ("Charlie's Designs for Men's Hair").  Charlie used to cut hair at the Rice Hotel in Houston back in the day, which is how my old man got acquainted with him.  For reference, dad was 30 years older than my mom; he was born in 1910; I'm the youngest of 5. 

 

Charlie eventually set up shop in an office building on 59 and Yorktown in Houston.  When my dad was close to the end with cancer, Charlie came to the house and gave him his last haircut.  I went to Charlie for haircuts for as long as I lived in Houston and made a special trip for a haircut right before my wedding despite living almost four hours away. 

 

He was a "character" and a "life long bachelor" as that generation referred to it.  Never wore out the soles of those loafers, so to speak.  Nonetheless, because his clientele were older, male, executive types (and young lawyer/law student me), Charlie always had a stack of Hustlers and Penthouses in between the shop area and the waiting room, which was visible through the glass door to the office building's common area.  When I was older, I would go help myself to a copy of whatever was on top and sit on the couch in the waiting room to see what the latest "grooming" trends were.  If he's still around, some of you Houston types would do well to pay him a visit for a damned good haircut.

[dcbc 14569]

7 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Its sad to see it go but, man, that building was a dump in the early 90s.  I'm surprised it hadn't fallen over sooner.  This is one of those, "surprised it took that long" but, yeah, a bummer.  I used to get a Woo Do, too.

http://www.goodallwooten.com/

CSB

 

During my senior year at UT, I flew out to LA to see a girl I used to date.  Stopover in Vegas and the SWA jet cleared out but for four people.  We all decided to sit together in the 3 across facing the 3 across bulkhead seats and make a party of the leg from Vegas to LA.  Drinks flowed and this guy across from me, who was heading back to LA from Vegas heard I went to school in Austin and asked, you ever hear of the Woo?  I said that I had, and he said, well, that was my grandfather's building.  I think he was Goodall Wooten, III.  He had some restaurants in LA.

 

/CSB

[dcbc 14569]

Sat two chairs down from an old guy at the old Green Acres Barbershop in Tyler.  After his haircut, the guy stood up, took off his shirt, and the barber proceeded to shave his back.  I'm not sure if there's enough blue liquid for those clippers to have made me want to be next up in that chair.

Edited April 21, 2022 by dcbc

[TKthunder2 5017]

Since UT now owns Dobie, I’d love to see them give them a sweetheart rental agreement somewhere in the building its not like they need a ton of space.

[MAUFRAIS 6678]

Meh.  I'm just old.  I have always gotten my hair cut by old men, older than me.  Old people tend to die, film at 11.
Man, I loved the Sportsman in its heyday.  Got my hair cut next to James Michener (last haircut of his life, he passed away a couple of months after, we had a great conversation), a couple of Texas Supreme Court justices (gave us time to talk shop), a coupla federal judges, and I remember when they hosted a "client appreciation fish fry" -- one of the guys had caught a bunch of crappie, and invited the customers over, during the week, for beer and fried fish.  A shitload of guys hanging out in the parking lot, drinking beer and eating fried fish on something like a Thursday at noon.  And again, the crown included a bunch of local leaders and such.  It was good stuff.

They still do shit like that. I buy tamales from Marcos every Christmas.

[MAUFRAIS 6678]

Also, I assume that whole block will be demolished. So when it does, what becomes of Jeremiah the frog?

[NeverMarryAStripper 22030]

I assume he will retire somewhere to drink his wine

[FartingMonk 3608]

I used to go there and watch the bootleg movies and stare at hot coed ass walking by.

[atomheartbevo 90057]

On 4/21/2022 at 9:08 AM, mdmost said:

Though when they added the massage glove, that was a touch weird. 

On 4/21/2022 at 9:36 AM, Hanrahan said:

Wow - I hadn't thought about the straight razor neck shave and massage glove in 20 years.  More places should do that.

On 4/21/2022 at 9:38 AM, Brisketexan said:

Man, almost forgot about the chrome electric massage glove.  Total throwback.

Absolutely nothing wrong with a good old fashioned prostrate massage, and glad to see others appreciated it.  

[Judge Roybeanbag 11825]

On 4/21/2022 at 9:13 AM, Pato del Muerto said:

Those times I waited for you seem so long ago
I wanted you far too much to ever let you go
You know you never got buy, I feel it too
And I guess I never could stand to lose
It's just a pity to say goodbye to woo
Goodbye to woo-ooh

 

 

id have sworn that was go-gos but in looking up the lyrics it’s Scandal. 

It was Scandal, Paul Shaffer played in that track.

[NorthLoop 14303]

I only got my hair cut at the Woo once. I liked the metal block massage and the movie playing on the TV that was currently in theaters, but the haircut itself sucked. 

 

I ended up sticking with Mane Express in Dobie for a few years until they changed out all the stylists. Then I was at Sportsman's for a good decade. Lots of UT royalty at that place over the years. 

[Saint Tacky 1625]

I don't recall what I paid for a Woo Doo back in the day, but $28!? That's already an astronomical amount unless they've evolved into a service that requires more than just a trimmer.

[billfromlaketravis 11605]

I remember it being around $20 with tip when I was a student in the 2000’s. 
 

The best part of the experience was the bootleg movies. They had a nice big screen, and the quality was pretty good. 720p or so. Most of the movies didn’t come out for another 3 months. The movie and the haircut was pretty much a wash. 

[RDCanecutter 26553]

4 years in Austin, and I can only remember one barbershop I went to, once, the first few weeks I was there.

I can remember the bars I hung out in.

[SHOOTER12 8853]

On 4/25/2022 at 11:50 AM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I assume he will retire somewhere to drink his wine

 

On 4/25/2022 at 10:53 AM, MAUFRAIS said:

Also, I assume that whole block will be demolished. So when it does, what becomes of Jeremiah the frog?

 

On 4/25/2022 at 11:50 AM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I assume he will retire somewhere to drink his wine

Yep, he was a good friend of mine...

[huge 3799]

I went to the Woo a couple of times in '93 then moved to NuDo next to Gumbys over by Hardin house.

The 'accidental' boob brushes while sensually washing your hair was a deciding factor for the move.

[MAUFRAIS 6678]

Yeah that was still going on around Y2K.