OUR STORy

 DESPITE THE ODDS AGAINST LINDA AND JOHNNY, THEY STARTED A LEGACY FOR MANY TO FOLLOW AND CREATED A CAREER OUT OF NOTHING. THEY WANTED BETTER OPPORTUNITIES AND A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR FAMILY. THEY HAD SHOPS IN NATIONAL CITY, LOGAN HEIGHTS, AND TIJUANA, AND WORKED FOR MANY OTHER SHOPS IN THE AREA OF SOUTH SAN DIEGO. THEY TRAVELED UP TO NORTH COUNTY FROM TIME TO TIME AND ALWAYS FELT THAT IT WAS A SAFER AND SLOWER-PACED COMMUNITY COMPARED TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM. SO THEY FINALLY SAW A FOR LEASE SIGN ON DIANA STREET. THEIR FIRST ENCINITAS BARBERSHOP OPENED ON JUNE 22ND 1996. LINDA AND JOHNNY WANTED TO NAME IT SOMETHING TIMELESS, SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO CAPTURE A SMALL-TOWN FEEL LIKE LEUCADIA WAS, AND SO IT WAS NAMED LEUCADIA BARBERSHOP. SOME SAY KEEP LEUCADIA FUNKY, GHETTO BY THE SEA, GRITTY… ECT. AT THE TIME THEY CAME UPON THIS LITTLE GEM LEUCADIA WAS STILL SLEEPY, STILL FUNKY, AND A LITTLE DIRTY BUT THEY EMBRACED IT… THEY MADE IT THEIR OWN. LINDA AND JOHNNY WERE ABLE TO SAVE UP ENOUGH TO BUY A MOBILE HOME JUST ACROSS THE TRAIN TRACKS ON VULCAN AND SO THEY MOVED THEIR FAMILY UP TO NORTH COUNTY. A WHILE AFTER THAT THEY BUILT THE “REAL BARBERSHOP” EAST OF LEUCADIA ON EL CAMINO REAL. THIS WAS JOHNNYS GENTLEMEN'S HANGOUT, WHERE HE AND ALL THE BOYS COULD TALK ABOUT WHATEVER AND WHOMEVER THEY WANTED. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE VIBES WHERE YOU FELT LIKE YOU WERE IN A REAL OLD-SCHOOL BARBERSHOP… PLAYBOYS WERE SCATTERED AROUND, POLITICS WERE ARGUED ABOUT, AND COOL MUSIC PLAYING. AROUND THEN SUPERCUTS, SPORTS CLIPS, KIDS CUTS, AND ALL THE CHAIN HAIR SPOTS STARTED OPENING. THAT WAS A MAKE-IT-OR-BREAK-IT MOMENT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES LIKE LINDA AND JOHNNYS. WHEN BIG CORPORATIONS HAVE THE MONEY TO DO ALL THE BIGGEST ADVERTISING AND BUY ONE-GET-ONE DEALS, IT TOOK A TOLL ON PEOPLE IN THEIR INDUSTRY, AND A LOT OF SHOPS WERE PUSHED OUT. TIME WENT ON. THEY OUTLIVED THESE PLACES AND SOONER OR LATER PEOPLE CAME TO FIGURE OUT THAT BIG BUSINESSMEN DON’T KNOW WHAT A GOOD HAIRCUT LOOKS LIKE TO A BAD ONE. REAL BARBERSHOP ENDED UP CLOSING ITS DOOR IN 2014 AFTER JOHNNY PASSED AWAY FROM CANCER. THEIR SON EMILIANO WAS RUNNING HIS LOCATION FOR ABOUT A YEAR AFTER AND DUE TO RENT GOING UP THEY FIGURED WHY NOT CONSOLIDATE INTO ONE SHOP? LINDA HAD ALREADY BEEN HOLDING UP THE FORT IN LEUCADIA WITH ALL THE CLIENTS SHE COULD HANDLE IN HER SMALL SHOP SO THEY GAVE ALL JOHNNYS OLD CUSTOMERS A HEADS UP THAT THEY WERE LEAVING AND CROSSED THEIR FINGERS THAT THEY WOULD FOLLOW. SO BACK TO SQUARE ONE, THEY MOVED INTO LEUCADIA AND GUTTED OUT THE WHOLE SHOP… THERE WAS ONLY TWO CHAIRS AT THE TIME SO THEY HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIT FOUR IN, THEY WENT MINIMAL AND GAVE THE SHOP A WHOLE NEW LOOK. THEIR SONS GREW UP IN THE SKATEBOARDING/SURF CULTURE SO ITS INCORPORATED ALL OVER IF YOU EVER CHECK THE SHOP OUT. NOW ITS ALL THE BOYS, YOU’D BE LUCKY IF YOU EVER CATCH LINDA WORKING ONE DAY. EVERYONE WORKING AT THE SHOP ARE FRIENDS AND YOU WILL FEEL THE VIBE AT THE SHOP WHEN YOU WALK THAT THESE GUYS DON’T JUST WORK TOGETHER, THEY LIKE WORKING TOGETHER. SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL, FAILURE IS NOT FATAL… THANKS FOR READING. KEEP IT FAMILIA