Barbershop is place to get haircut, shoot off frustration

BENTON, Ill. (AP) - Extreme Exigency LLC, home of The Armed Barbers, has created a buzz turning its customers into some of the sharpest-looking sharpshooters around.

Located several miles off the beaten path in rural Franklin County, the business represents an unusual marriage between a shooting park and a barber shop. Ray and Stacy Minor, co-owners and husband and wife, opened the business at 9911 River Bend Road in late 2016. It's been growing every year since.

'œIt's probably the best barber shop in the free world,'ť said Jamie Shotts, of Benton, a regular customer in the barber chair, and a shooting range member.

Ray Minor retired from the Illinois State Police as a master sergeant in 2014, and started dreaming about what to do next. He and a business partner, another state trooper, had opened Extreme Exigency the year prior in Hurst to offer concealed carry classes.

The classes were heavily sought after once Illinois' concealed carry ban was ruled unconstitutional, and lawmakers outlined requirements for licensure in 2013. But his partner, who was retiring around the same time as Minor, wanted to exit the business so that he could snowbird to Florida.

Minor, on the other hand, was looking to expand. He said that a lot of their customers in Hurst wanted a place for target practice, but they didn't offer that option. He decided to build a shooting park on land that has been in his family for four generations. That part of the business came naturally given his years-long experience in law enforcement. But he envisioned something more.

'œWe wanted to create a place where a guy could go between work and home that wasn't a bar," he said.

The way to do that, he decided, was the addition of a barber shop. Barbering was in his blood, after all. For many years, his grandfather operated a barber shop on the northeast corner of the Benton square.

There was only one problem with this plan: Minor wasn't a barber.

He researched his options and enrolled in Rend Lake College's yearlong barber program in 2015. That's where he met John David Sweet - or just 'œSweet'ť to almost everyone who knows him. They hit it off, and Minor asked if he wanted to take a chance and go to work for his new business. Sweet said yes, and they opened the doors to customers in August 2016, just days after receiving word that they had both passed their state barber exams. That was the easy part, relatively speaking.

The business is located several miles from town, down a curvy blacktop road that isn't heavily trafficked. They prayed customers would arrive.

In the first few weeks, business was slow. They had one customer each of the first two days, and none on the third. But word spread quickly.

'œAfter about three weeks, it got to the point where we were full time, all the time,'ť Minor said. 'œWe were covered up.'ť

Customers like Shotts and Jim Duncan, also of Benton, are frequent visitors to the establishment. Sometimes they come for a haircut, or to use the shooting range. Both said the hot towel around their neck after a shave is the best part. 'œYou feel like a new man,'ť Shotts said. But people are just as apt to frequent the business for no reason at all. "Sometimes, I'll just stop in to see what Ray's up to,'ť said Duncan, a retired correctional officer and fellow motorcyclist.

That's exactly what Minor hoped would happen. His vision, he said, was to create a "manly kind of place, where you could come in, hang out, get a haircut."

The walls of the barber shop are decorated with law enforcement patches from various departments - some where Minor has worked over the years, others gifted to him by customers.

The selections in the magazine rack include 'œThe Family Handyman'ť 'œGuns & Ammo'ť 'œGame & Fish'ť and 'œShooting Illustrated.'ť There's also 'œThe Little Book of Beards'ť for customers looking for a creative spin for their facial embellishments. Two posters on the wall advertise various styling options to pick from, such as the 'œExecutive Contour,'ť 'œFlattop Boogie'ť and 'œRazor Fade.'ť A host of men's products - shampoos, soaps, beard oils, hard cologne, manly scented candles, and even cologne for dogs, a popular product for former military people with service canines - are available for sale.

The barber shop serves customers of all ages. For kids, there are stacks of classic Marvel comic books, and a fenced outdoor play area with a camera that broadcasts onto the TV inside so that parents can keep an eye on them.

'œWe have had guys come in here just for the coffee, and to let their kids play. One of them, he'll sit right here,'ť Minor said pointing to one of the waiting chairs, 'œand he'll say, '~I just need 20 minutes.''ť Little boys' first haircuts earn them a certificate with their name on it, and a place to keep a lock of their hair.

Adults can earn recognition, too. Those who receive a face or neck shave get a 'œMan Card'ť stating that they have been 'œrecognized as a fully-pledged manly man.'ť

'œIf we find out they've been to Great Clips, we take it away,'ť Minor said with a laugh.

To keep up with growing business, in July 2017, the Minors hired a third barber, Zach Arnold, of Herrin. That October, they also added a new wing onto their facility to accommodate more barber chairs, all of which date back to the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, and were previously used in shops in Okawville, Shelbyville, West Frankfort and Benton.

Arnold said it's a fun place to work because it's unique. 'œThe thing that's different about this place is that people of all ages can come together and talk,'ť he said. 'œThere's quite a few guys that come in just to hang out a lot. It's really nice to see that happen, especially when we're kind of in an age where we don't talk to people that much.'ť

While the barber shop side of the business borrows from the past, the shooting side is modern. The indoor facilities include a classroom setting and a partially covered shooting range that is used for concealed carry and officer recertification classes. A portion of the building is set up to replicate the interior of a home. He uses it to teach people how to respond to an armed intruder. Class offerings at the facility include the 'œThe Predator's Playbook'ť and 'œThe Predator's Playbook for Places of Worship.'ť They aim to offer insight into the mind of armed intruders and mass shooters, and to teach people how to respond to minimize harm to themselves and others. He also offers individualized handgun instruction.

The shooting park outside includes seven covered shooting bays, three with retractable paper targets, and four with metal reactionary targets. There are another two uncovered bays with metal plate targets.

In the near future, he plans to add a 300-yard rifle range and three archery ranges. 'œI have 40 acres and we're still a baby,'ť he said of his business. 'œWe're growing.'ť A membership is required to use the shooting park. The lowest-cost membership is $25, with a $15-per-day use fee if a punch card is purchased in advance, or $20-per-day if not. A $200 membership buys unlimited access. (Active and retired police officers receive a significant discount.)

Don Watson, the business' grounds supervisor, said the beauty of the place is that it's 'œout in the country, away from society.'ť And he likes that it's an alternative option for socializing to a bar. 'œInstead of going out and getting drunk, you can come out here, get a haircut, shave and shoot your frustration off," eh said. "That's what I like about it.'ť

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Source: The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan, https://bit.ly/393LBL3