When the Lena Village Board began discussing reopening the town barbershop, it was the wish of LeAnne Pillath that it remain loyal to her late husband’s style of barbering.
And with the shop now open for business, that is exactly what customers will experience.
“Her husband ran a barbershop so she wanted a barbershop,” Village Trustee Chad Misco said. “A beautician wanted to come in to do women’s hair, but LeAnne said, ‘Nope. Lena Barbershop.’ That is what her husband did and that is what she wanted.”
“We had different leads on people, and for some of them, it just wasn’t the right time,” Pillath said. “I wanted to leave it the way it was.”
The shop, which opened in the 1930s, was originally run by Emil Pillath Sr. His son, Emil Pillath Jr., worked with him before taking over in 1984 when his dad retired.
Emil Pillath Jr. ran the business until 2005 before poor health forced him to close it. He passed away in 2010, after his struggle with cancer.
“He really had some nice customers, and he really loved his job,” Pillath said. “Emil never took appointments, and people didn’t mind waiting because they could just visit with people.”
Pillath said the barbershop was always a meeting place, and younger customers learned a lot of history and common sense from listening to the older men chit-chatting.
Pillath now rents the building to a new operator, Ashlie Thompson, who has already experienced this type of socializing since the shop reopened in early June as Main Street Barbershop.
“The other day … this guy got done with his haircut with Ashlie and just sat down and started visiting again,” Pillath said.
Thompson, originally from Gillett, worked in Green Bay at a men’s barbershop. She said people are excited about the return of the barbershop to Lena.
“I hear all of these stories of how Lena used to be and how prosperous it was for a town, and they want stuff to come back,” Thompson said. “Everyone comes in and says, ‘I haven’t been in here in so long, but I am so happy you are here.’”
Misco, a member of the Village Board’s planning and development committee, said reopening the barbershop is a step in trying to grow the town.
“For the community, we have been trying to get businesses here, and it has been a struggle,” Misco said. “To have Ashlie is kind of neat and a big help.”
Thompson said things have picked up as word of the Main Street Barbershop spreads.
“I think she will do well,” Pillath said of Thompson. “She has been in there since June, and she has had people back for their second haircuts. When you come back for another one, that means something. People seem to be very pleased with her haircuts.”
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