Rexburg barber retiring after 39 years of business
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REXBURG – When Larry Ricks became a barber more than 40 years ago, it was an afterthought.
Today, the 66-year-old Mud Lake native has accumulated hundreds of customers throughout eastern Idaho, and he’s a beloved member of the community. He’s officially retiring on July 28.
When asked why he’s stepping down, Ricks simple reply was, “It’s time.”
“I have other things I want to start doing now,” Ricks tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I’m looking forward to doing more camping, fishing, doing some traveling with my wife, Mary Ann.”
His business partner, Dylan Hathaway, started working for him about two years ago and will be taking over the business.
Stepping into the barbering profession was a natural fit for Ricks. His dad, Richard, owned a barbershop in Rigby for many years.
But Larry wasn’t planning to become a barber until his brother decided to do it.
“When I got home from my mission, I worked at the fertilizer plant. It was a seasonal job. My brother drove a semi-truck, and he decided he was going to … barber school. I thought about it all day and decided to do it too,” Larry recalls.
The brothers attended barber school in Salt Lake City and eventually opened a shop together.
Business was slow, Larry says, and the venture only lasted two years.
“We didn’t have the population base to support all three of us (there was a third partner in the business),” he says. “After 7,000 games of checkers and three dart boards, I told him I needed to make a living at this job.”
He worked at his dad’s shop for a short time before opening the Rexburg Barbershop on College Avenue in 1984. Ricks’ shop moved four times along this street for many years. About 10 years ago, his partner, Kenny Brower, passed away after a battle with cancer. Ricks moved to his current building at 50 North 2nd East in 2017.
After 39 years of business, Ricks says all the friends he’s gained have made it a rewarding career.
“All the people I’ve gotten to know and become friends with (are) probably my fondest memory,” says Ricks. “I’ve seen a lot of growth here in Rexburg, a lot of changes.”
In a 2017 interview, Ricks shared how he once gave a haircut to a man who was later arrested for bank robbery.
“I had a guy come in here for a haircut … who said he used to play football here at Ricks College back in the mid ’80s. He was originally from Iceland or Greenland,” Ricks said. “About a month later, I (read a news report) about a guy who turned himself in (to the Rexburg Police Department) for a bank robbery in Texas. As he told them what he had done, they didn’t believe him because he was joking and laughing. I looked at his picture, and it was the same guy whose hair I’d cut a month earlier.”
As Hathaway prepares to take over the business, he says it’s been a joy to work for Ricks over the last two years. The 24-year-old St. Anthony man got his barber’s license in 2021 and started working after graduating from Paul Mitchell Academy.
He’s grateful for what Ricks has taught him.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned from Larry is how to manage my time more wisely. My first few months, I would get behind a lot, and he really taught me how to manage my time and be quicker,” Hathaway says.
And although he’s excited about taking over the shop, Hathaway says he has “some big shoes to fill.”
To patrons, Ricks expresses his gratitude for being able to serve them over the years.
“I just want to tell all my customers thanks for their friendship and support,” Ricks says.