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1 year later, barber is pleased about shop
By SHARON BOND © St. Petersburg Times, published January 3, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- Today is the one-year anniversary of Sports Cuts, the barber shop where 60 to 65 people are trimmed up daily except for days like Dec. 23, when the tally was more like 120. "We opened at quarter to six (a.m.) and got out of here at quarter to 8 (p.m.) because of the holiday," said Milton Mobley, barber and owner of Sports Cuts. "The wait was about 12 minutes per customer." Mobley and John Green did the cutting while Andrew Munn swept and cleaned between customers. "That was a little too much work," Mobley said.He opened the shop early and stayed late because of advice from his longtime mentor Theodore Roberson. Mobley worked for Roberson at Ted's Barber Shop for more than 13 years before opening Sports Cuts. "Over the years from working with Ted, he taught me the whole business. He always stressed, "Be there for the customers.' " The shop at 3166 18th Ave. S was a 20-year dream of Mobley's, and he has no regrets about the several years and $150,000 he spent getting it open. He has had a good year. "I've had no second thoughts. I have no regrets," Mobley said. "I have very good support from the community and people." Haircuts are $9, beard trims $6. Mobley was unable to say what he has made from the business since this is his first year. But the shop supports him and Green. Munn has a second job detailing cars. Mobley said he already has repaid a loan from the Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corp. and continues to pay about $8,000 a year on his building loan. Mobley rehabilitated an old St. Petersburg Times substation. Sports Cuts has a comfortable atmosphere. Sports memorabilia is placed throughout the shop. Talk among waiting customers often is about sports, although politics was the subject of choice during the recent election and its aftermath. "There was a lot of that. Every day," Mobley said. Laughter was frequent on a recent day. A large-screen television played in one corner of the shop. "There is a lot of sports talk. There is a lot of political talk. There is talk about girlfriends. I feel at home here," said customer Daniel Green. He lives in Tampa and works in St. Petersburg. He has been a customer of Mobley's for six years, moving with him from Ted's Barber Shop. He comes in on a lunch hour every other week. "I tell him I need a new cut and he fixes me up," Green said, adding that when he has an idea for a cut that doesn't suit his head, Mobley doesn't hesitate to tell him so. Mobley said most of his customers from Ted's followed him to Sports Cuts and that he has picked up a number since he opened. Both men and women sit for cuts. Most are black, although he has three to four white customers a month, he said. The shop, which sits on a wooded lot, represents for Mobley a statement in the black community that homes and business buildings can be rehabilitated to improve their neighborhoods. "That is one of the things I want to stress. Once you rehab, it will look just as good as downtown. You have to be able to see that," Mobley said. "We not only have a nice-looking shop, we have a nice atmosphere. There is no cursing here. People with kids are looking for safety as well as a good cut," he added. This year, Mobley plans to add a bike rack for customers and an outside patio area for smokers. He also wants to hire two more barbers. "During the course of a day, when we have 10 to 12 people waiting, that is too many people waiting and too long a time to wait," Mobley said. Cuts take an average of 12 to 15 minutes. Taking another cue from mentor Roberson, Mobley keeps a jar of condoms on the counter that customers may take for free. They are his statement against the spread of disease in the black community. Both men and women take them, he said.
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