Popular barber moves on after more than 30 years

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - After more than three decades as a barber, Toni Kokoros realizes many of her clients don’t come to her just for a haircut.

Sure, some go for a shave, a trim or a “shape-up,” but the longtime owner of a popular Belltown barbershop has also been a good friend - and listener - to many local residents over the years.

“I get paid to keep secrets,” she said, just days after her last day in the city.

Kokoros, whose family is considered by many a pillar of the community, moved to South Carolina in early April - exactly eight years after taking over Belltown Barbers.

“I feel kind of sad, but I’m happy for her and that she’ll have an opportunity to have another chapter in her life,” said Stamford resident Robert “Buddy” Kretzman, who’s been getting a haircut with Kokoros for about 30 years.

Kretzman said one of her best qualities, besides being a “terrific” barber, is that she’s good at reading cues in her clients. “She’ll talk if you want to talk. She’ll listen if you want her to,” he said.

Another client even told Kokoros he was losing his “therapist,” she said.

Kokoros, 61, grew up in Stamford and become a barber in her late 20s after a series of office jobs.

One of the first woman barbers in the city, she worked for years at a shop in the Ridgeway Shopping Center and then owned one for 14 years. “Stamford just became family,” Kokoros said. “I know a lot of people in this community. Just about everywhere I go, I see somebody I know.”

Kokoros closed her downtown barbershop in the early 2000s when she could no longer afford the rent. She worked at several shops before buying Belltown Barbers in 2009.

She transformed the space into an old-fashioned barbershop, featuring three vintage chairs from the 1930s, numerous portraits and framed newspaper articles on the walls, vintage toys and a classic blue, red and white barber poll twisting right outside the door. The goal was to offer her clients a warm and personal environment.

Kokoros said although the golden age of local barbershops are long gone - with the infusion of chain salons - the experience of going to a family-owned place will never be matched.

“When you go to the mall, you’re also going to Macy’s, you’re also going for dinner,” she said. “Here, it’s exclusive. We’re not worried about who’s next. It’s not like a production line.”

Kokoros also enjoys the simplicity and charm of barbershops over salons with hair dressers and cosmetologists.

“We strictly do clipper hair cutting,” she said. “This is a no-frills job.”

Kokoros’ father, Tino, ran a popular restaurant for four decades. He died in 2012, more than 20 years after closing Tino’s Luncheonette.

Belltown Barbers, located in a quiet commercial strip not far from Dolan Middle School, will remain open. The new owners are two longtime friends of Kokoros - Susan DelMonaco Benevelli and her son, Kyle.

They plan to preserve Kokoros’ legacy by not changing much of the shop. Susan Benevelli praised her predecessor’s personality.

“Toni has always been very calming, happy, smiling all the time,” she said. “I’m going to miss her very much because she means a lot to this town. I hope that we can be as good as she was.”

In her new home in Charleston, South Carolina, Kokoros will bring her hair-cutting skills to a Marine military base on Parris Island. She and her longtime partner, Sally, decided it was time for a more relaxing life.

“It’s just a different way of life. It’s a slower pace,” Kokoros said.

“I’m going to miss all my customers who have been very close friends through the years,” she said. “But I’m looking forward to a slower life with no winters.”

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Information from: The Advocate, https://www.stamfordadvocate.com