New barbershop hopes to build relationships with community

As soon as you step into Snake River Barber Co., you’ll be greeted with a warm welcome. Owner and sole barber Bo Brogan opened the doors to the shop less than a month ago but becoming a barber was not the path he planned on.

“Actually I had no idea that I wanted to be a barber until my wife and I vacationed in Scottsdale, Arizona,” Brogan said.

He, his wife and his father-in-law were walking through a mall and saw two barbershops. His father-in-law wanted to stop by one of them to get his beard trimmed up.

“I walk in, and I’m watching them work. It was just so cool,” Brogan said. “I turned to my wife, and I said, ‘Hey, this is something I think I want to do.'”

Soon after, he enrolled in a barber school in Boise.

“I’ve always been interested in men’s grooming products and stuff like that,” Brogan said. “Even in high school, the art of shaving has been fascinating to me.”

Barber school got Brogan to fall in love with the career even more.

Soon after finishing school and getting his proper licenses, Brogan got a job offer from Skyline Barbershop in Idaho Falls.

“They were just wanting to see how a part-time gig would go for the time being,” Brogan said.

As time went on, he started to get more hours in, but there was a problem with the shop. It only had two chairs and three barbers rotating when to work in them.

“That is kind of why I was, like, wanting to venture out on my own,” Brogan said.

When Brogan was in school, he wanted to work for somebody for about a year, learn the ropes of the industry and get an idea of how to run a barbershop.

“It’s kind of exactly what I did. Those guys taught me a lot and kind of mentored me,” Brogan said. “Help me spread my wings.”

Now he is able to take those tools and bring them to his own shop, with his own added touches.

“Honestly, this place wound up being exactly what I thought it would become,” Brogan said.

He hopes the shop shows off his personality and, through that, connect with the community and customers.

“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to find a barbershop in Idaho Falls, it’s just hard to find someone you trust putting a razor to your head,” said customer Joseph Prentiss.

Besides cutting hair and trimming beards, Brogan said that his favorite part about being a barber is building those relationships.

“Remembering conversations that we had (from) the last time that I cut your hair or trimmed your beard and just pick up where we left off,” Brogan said.

Snake River Barber Co. currently has three open chairs, but Brogan wants to be able to hire soon and even become a mentor to a new barber down the line.

“Use the two (or three) of our information to help them out and learn more, like I was shown and had in my mentorship,” Brogan said.

Snake River Barber Co. is by appointment only.

The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday. It is located just behind the Paramount Theater in Idaho Falls at 1819 Hoopes Ave. For bookings and contact information click HERE.