We weren't looking for a funeral parlor.
When we walked into the building on N Wellwood Ave in Lindenhurst, something felt right. It was built in 1932. It had weight to it, history you could feel in the walls. It also had drop ceilings, brown wood paneling, and brown carpet. Decades of people covering up what was already there instead of letting it breathe.
We started pulling it back.
What Was Underneath
Ripped up a piece of carpet. Underneath, original white oak floors. Damn near a hundred years old and still beautiful. Popped a drop ceiling tile. Behind it, tin ceilings. The real ones. Pulled back a section of that ugly brown paneling and found the original sea foam green stucco walls sitting there, waiting.
This building had been hiding in plain sight. Not rotted out, not beyond saving. Just buried under decades of shortcuts.
Most people would have gutted the whole thing. Started fresh. Slapped up some drywall, threw in some Edison bulbs, and called it a barbershop. That is not how we do things. We don't cover stuff up. We uncover it. We brought the building back to its original bones and gave it a Holy Black soul.
Why a Barbershop
The Holy Black started as a product company. Stefan making pomade and shaving soap in small batches, selling online, building a following of guys who gave a damn about what they put in their hair. The brand grew from there into something bigger than any single product.
A barbershop was the natural extension. Not a side project. Not a vanity play. Barbershops are where the culture lives. Where guys sit down, take a minute, and walk out feeling like the best version of themselves. That is what we have always been about, with or without a physical space.
Matt runs the shop. He is the face of the brand, the one with the handshake everyone remembers. The team he built, Kevin, Tony, Saul, Anthony, Nick, Robby, and RJ, are all cut from the same cloth. Guys who are serious about the craft and don't take themselves too seriously.
The Philosophy Behind It
Whether it is a building from 1932 or a formula we have been dialing in for years, the work is the same. Find what is real. Strip back what is covering it up. Let it speak for itself.
We do not chase trends. We do not reformulate products to cut costs. We do not gut the character out of a space to make it look like every other barbershop in America. The original bones matter. The work you put in to preserve them matters more.
That is the philosophy behind every product with The Holy Black name on it. Small batches. Real ingredients. Nothing hidden.
Come See It
The shop is at 166 N Wellwood Ave in Lindenhurst. Tuesday through Saturday, 9 to 6. Walk in or book through Squire. If you are on Long Island and you have not been in, now is the time.
And if you can not make the trip, the products ship everywhere. Everything we make in the shop, we sell online. Same quality either way.
Learn more about the barbershop or shop the full collection.