A FAMILY that feared they’d have a close shave with the effect of Covid on their barbershop have taken home an award for the second year in a row.

The Mancave Barbershop in Bishop Auckland has received the title of best business overall in the County Durham Best Business Awards 2020.

After Covid-19 restrictions were announced early this year, the Barrons family, owners of the shop, were left worried about the future of their small business after losing customers during lockdown.

Yet months later the family has been left overjoyed after being told they had once again won the best overall category award, having previously taken home the same title last year in the Bishop Auckland Business Awards 2019.

The Northern Echo: The couple took home the same title at the 2019 awardsThe couple took home the same title at the 2019 awards

Chris Barrons, who owns the store with his wife Sam, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to have received this award for a second time.

“We have had some tough times lately due to closures and this win makes it all worth it.

“We can’t thank our customers enough and everyone who voted, it means so much to us as a business and family.”

The family said they were fearful that lockdown would hit the shop hard, but that they managed to get through thanks to customers.

Mr Barrons said: “The hardest bit was coming back with restrictions and having to space out appointments, having to do less haircuts per day - it really has a dramatic impact on business.

“Another concern was that during lockdown a lot of people were cutting their own hair, they were going longer without haircuts.

“Since reopening we’ve noticed that some people are aware that they can go longer without needing a haircut, so people that we had coming in weekly or fortnightly are now coming in monthly or less, which has impacted business."

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His wife added: “With people working from home, everyone is staying inside, and events such as Christenings or weddings can’t take place, which is when people would really want a hairdo.”

Mrs Barrons suffers from asthma and at 17 she had both Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which took a toll on her immune system.

The 36-year-old, who has been a hairdresser for 20 years, said: “It was really scary - I mean we’d all been locked up for four months, to then be told we could go back to work.

“All I could think was 'is it safe?' You’ve all of a sudden lost trust in everyone.

The Northern Echo: The family feared the barbers wouldn't come out of lockdown, but with the help of customers they managed to pull their business throughThe family feared the barbers wouldn't come out of lockdown, but with the help of customers they managed to pull their business through

“Even washing hair was scary, because Covid can last on the hair for up to 12 hours, and we were just petrified that we’d breathe it in.

“But after the first day back everything went back to normal, and it was really lovely to see our customers again.

“Everyone’s in the same boat, and all of our customers were really understanding with our rules.

“Making sure we had everything in order and making sure to follow the protocol was so important to us."

The Northern Echo: Owner Sam Barrons has been a barber for over 20 yearsOwner Sam Barrons has been a barber for over 20 years

“A lot of the time we had to think outside the box as we have little space to work with, and we just wanted to keep our customers safe through all of this.”

The barber added: “I treat all of our customers as though they are friends I’ve known for years.

“I’m not just a barber - it’s my life. Customers even text me after major events in their lives, because they just see me as a friend.”