Good Guys Barbershop in downtown Oswego has been enjoying the fruits of its labors after completing an expansion project that moved it into a new, larger storefront in Canal Commons. The expansion has allowed the shop to take on four new apprentices to begin working on their own in the coming months. 

The expansion was partially funded by a small-business grant from the city of Oswego and the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which granted the city $10 million for various improvement projects around its central areas. Owner Keith Raymond said that without the grant, the shop could not have expanded. 

“It was a foolish expansion, initially,” Raymond said. “The $25,000 we received from the city brought it into reality. It made it worthwhile for us.”

Good Guys has been a part of the Oswego business community for nearly five years and has grown in popularity to a point that stretched its capabilities in its old space. 

“A really busy day, we do between 130 and 150 haircuts,” Raymond said. “We have seen an increase, but we are not really able to accommodate more customers yet, until the rest of our barbers are completely trained.” 

The shop had eight barbers before the expansion project began. 

Raymond said the build-out took about five months to complete, and the shop is still finishing up some details. The original shop was considered a “rough draft” of the finished look that Raymond and his team were hoping for, he said, and they are continuing to work with a custom woodworker to finish the space. 

Raymond said alongside the expansion, the shop has begun to look at new markets to enter and to expand the Good Guys brand beyond Oswego. 

“From here, we’re looking at other markets,” Raymond said. “We’re looking at other cities to expand barber shops in, basically.”

Raymond said he is looking into expanding to nearby towns and cities, like Fulton, Camillus and Watertown. 

“We’ve got a good business model for expansion now, and we feel like we can grow at a rapid rate,” Raymond said.