Eden's Carl The Barber is making the best of being back in business

Carl Ashley the barber is back in business at Carl's Place in Eden, N.Y. and he has some stories to tell. He said "The first week back I spent the entire week fixing haircuts that were given by wives."

Twenty-five years ago Carl moved into the historic building on Church street that used to be the Post Office. Inside there's plenty to see including a collection of police badges, photos of movie stars and his treasured pictures of his ninety-nine year old mother with Carl at the finish line. "We just did a 5 K. We do one every year."

He's been back on the job a couple of weeks and the COVID regulations have have made his work more challenging. Carl now has to take customers temperatures, wear a mask and limit the number of people in the shop, adding "there's constant disinfecting of the chair and door knobs".

The Pandemic also side-lined his side gig. He's a guitar player and before everything shut down he was playing most weekends in local clubs. He says "I miss it terribly".

Carl says he's glad to be back in business and is optimistic that things will eventually get back to normal saying "this will pass, we'll get through it."

Carl's Place: 2764 W Church St., Eden, New York 14057