Radford barber planning 10th anniversary event to thank his customers
By MIKE WILLIAMS
The Patriot
Radford barber Brad Angell is planning a good old-fashioned nostalgic celebration on Aug. 19 to celebrate his shop’s 10th anniversary, and to thank all his customers.
“Radford and Pulaski County have been very good to me,” said Angell from his Third Avenue shop in downtown Radford.
A native of the Nashville area, Angell moved to Radford 10 years ago and the move proved to be a good one.
“We came up here to help out my father- and mother-in-law. My wife was born and raised in Radford and is a 1983 Radford High School graduate,” Angell said.
Angell got his barber instruction near his boyhood home at Master’s Barber and Styling College at Mt. Juliet, Tenn. and then opened his own shop when he moved to Radford.
“Ten years has gone by quick. Radford has really been good to me,” Angell stated.
“I guess probably a lot of it has been location,” he added.
“People ask me what the secret to a successful business is, and to me it’s (one) due diligence – making sure the community needs you; (two) do what you say you’re going to do and be there when you say you’ll be there, and (three) give a good product for a good price,” Angell said.
“Really, where can you go wrong with that!”
While Radford has been very supportive of his shop, so has his customers in Pulaski County and over in Christiansburg.
“I can remember over the years having students at Pulaski County High School drive over here from school when they found out about my shop. They’d sign themselves out for lunch and come over here, then go back to school,” Angell recalled.
“You know it’s interesting,” he said, “not being from here, but I’ve got a lot of customers from Pulaski County and a lot from Christiansburg as well,” Angell noted.
Angell’s Aug. 19 Customer Appreciation Day event, set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is planned as a nostalgic way to thank all his customers.
There will be a cruise-in featuring the New River Valley Cruisers in the parking lot next to the shop, along with a DJ spinning 50’s ad 60’s hits and Hethwood Market food truck.
“Hethwood Market’s food truck will be here. That used to be Sam’s Hot Dog truck, which was sold to Hethwood,” Angell said. “They’ll have hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and more.
“We’ll also have some RC Colas and Moon Pies and that sort of thing. We might do a Hoola-Hoop contest and we’ll be giving away some shirts, hats and free haircuts along with some other door prizes and freebies,” Angell added.
Parking for the event will be available in the public parking lot across from Angell’s shop at 115 Third Avenue in Radford.
Angell, a 2015 winner of the Radford Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year, recalled that students from Radford University made up the bulk of his customers in the early days and through COVID. Now that’s been totally reversed as enrollment at the college has decreased, and the number of local customers has increased.
Angell believes one factor leading to the increase in local customers is the fact – since COVID – his shop has operated on an appointment basis instead of the traditional walk-in operation.
Angell likes the appointment style operation, and says his customers – when asked – said they preferred that too.
Either way, Angell’s first 10 years have been a success, and he feels it’s time to say THANK YOU on Aug. 19!