Chelsea resident Luis Enrique Rodriguez is celebrating his second anniversary as the owner of the Good Looks Barber Shop on Washington Avenue in Prattville.
The shop is located less than a half mile from where Rodriguez excelled in baseball for the Chelsea High School team at Carter Park and in the Chelsea RBI League (formerly the Pony League) at Voke Park.
“I’m Chelsea born and raised,” proudly stated Rodriguez, who is 27 years old. “My grandmother [Myretha Ramos] used to live on Ingleside Avenue.”
An early start as a barber
Luis Enrique Rodriguez began considering a career in the barbershop industry during his years at Chelsea High School where he was a popular, industrious student in the Class of 2015.
“I started cutting hair during my junior year in high school in my mom’s basement,” recalled Rodriguez. “I did haircuts for my father, my cousins, all my classmates.”
Soon after high school, Rodriguez enrolled at the New England Hair Academy in Malden. Now a fully licensed barber, Rodriguez opened Good Looks Barber Shop in April, 2022, at 363A Washington Ave., Chelsea.
Rodriguez redesigned the entire store before its opening. The store is modern, inviting, spacious, and impeccably designed. There are six barber stations.
“I remodeled it from the ground up,” said Rodriguez. “It was a phone store prior, and I turned it into the barbershop of my dreams.”
This past Saturday, the six chairs were filled with customers, and there were people waiting patiently for their appointments. Rodriguez extended a warm and personal greeting to each customer upon their arrival. Just like the TV show, “Cheers,” everyone knows Luis Rodriguez’s name.
“It’s been busy,” said Rodriguez. “I’ve been very happy with the response from the community.”
Talking hair styles
Good Looks offers haircuts of all styles, hot-towel shaves, and other personal haircare services. “One of the latest and most popular style is a textured haircut with a skin-fade on the sides,” said Rodriguez. “We also get a lot of requests for tapers.”
This spring Rodriguez hosted Good Looks’ first-ever Boston Barber Battle event at 212 Arlington St., Chelsea.
“We had a barber competition and presented trophies. We had vendors. It was a great time,” said Rodriguez.
Recalling his baseball career
Luis Rodriguez has fond memories of playing Chelsea Little League Baseball and in the RBI League. “John Montes was my legendary coach in the RBI League,” said Rodriguez. “I learned so much from him about baseball and life.” A resident of nearby Webster Avenue, Rodrigues is an impressive role model, showing that hard work, perseverance and determination can lead to the realization of one’s goals. John Montes, a program manager at the Jordan Boys and Girls Club in Chelsea, said he isn’t surprised by Rodriguez’s success as a business owner. “Luis was a tremendous kid who worked hard and strived to be a better baseball player. He was always respectful of his coaches, and his teammates admired him. Quite frankly, it was my honor to be his coach. I wish him continued success. He’s a great role model for the youth of Chelsea.”