What once was a shuttle for senior citizens is now a one-of-a-kind barber shop on wheels in New Haven.
"He built this truck, little by little, paycheck by paycheck," Amarilis Lopez, the barber’s girlfriend, said.
Luis Gonzalez credits his son with coming up with the idea of starting the mobile barber shop.
"He said, 'Do the barber shop in a truck'," Gonzalez recalled his son telling him a few years back.
For years since his arrival from Puerto Rico, Gonzalez worked in traditional New Haven neighborhood barber shops.
"He already (has a) 20 years career," Lopez said. "He brought all his clients in here. They like it. They support him."
Gonzalez rents his parking space from a Fair Haven church and pays an electricity bill to United Illuminating.
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It cost $1,500 to buy the truck and another $3,000 for the renovations, Gonzalez told NBC Connecticut. More than six years later, he said between 50 and 60 customers sit down each week for a haircut in his unique space.
"He can be here or he can be mobile," Lopez said. "He can go to your house if he wants. He hasn’t started that yet."
Eventually, Gonzalez said he hopes to set up shop next to the more familiar mobile food vendors in the Elm City.
"My dream is to park here in Long Wharf,” he said, “people see something different," Gonzalez said.
His aspirations don’t stop there.
"One of the dreams is to be a bigger truck for more barbers," Lopez said.
Gonzalez is in the process of expanding his business. He is working on transforming a full-size school bus he purchased into a barbershop with three hair cutting stations.
The Mobile Barber Shop can be found at the corner of Lloyd and Chapel Streets. The usual hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
