RANDOLPH — Joshua Bush and Mark Kumfer have teamed up to open JJ’s Barbershop at 153 Main St., in downtown Randolph, bringing classic barbering with a modern touch to the area.
The barbershop, which opened May 6, aims to blend classic barbering techniques with a contemporary atmosphere, offering a wide range of services including precision cuts, fades, shaves and design work, including a Buffalo Bills logo or images and more. They hope to add more services, including facials, in the future.
Bush said they offer straight razor shaves with hot towels, which he said a lot of barbershops don’t do anymore. He said they also shave heads, if that’s what the client requests.
“We can also cut women’s hair, if it’s short, but we don’t do layers,” he said. “ We do short, simple cuts for women but no chemical (coloring) services.”
The duo first worked together at The Barber Shop Soli Deo Gloria in Springville, where they got their experience in the barber trade from owner James Nabozny, who mentored them. Bush said working together in Springville gave them the experience to learn what a barbershop makes and what it costs to run one. He said it made sense for them to strike out on their own and give it a shot.
Their fairly recent training and knowledge of the latest trends in barbering techniques are a huge asset for the new barbers.
“In an industry like this, people may think we lack experience because we are young, but we pay attention to trends,” Kumfer said. “The energy is different in this shop because Josh and I are friends and we have a good chemistry.”
A RANDOLPH native, Bush is a 2022 graduate of Randolph Central School. He got his preliminary training while attending the Cosmetology program at the Career & Technical Education Center (CA BOCES) in Ellicottville.
Ellicottville barber Jonathan Barlow gave him his first barber chair, which he used at home for a bit.
“I’ve been cutting hair for over four years now. I started messing around with hair in 10th grade — haircuts on my friends and trying to figure it out. Then I went to BOCES and started doing more,” he said.
His mother, Janelle Bush, is a hairstylist who owns and operates a hair salon in Jamestown. He said watching his mother do hair influenced him 100 percent.
“I knew it was something I could do to make a good living, without more schooling, while making people feel good about themselves with a good haircut,” he said.
Originally from Fort Wayne, Ind., Kumfer graduated from Pioneer Central School in 2019. Because his high school didn’t offer barbering, he decided to graduate a year early so he could attend the BOCES program offered at Potter Career & Technical Education Center in West Seneca.
Several childhood events influenced Kumfer’s career choice. Perhaps his first experience was when he “butchered” his own hair in eighth grade and tried to figure out how to fix it.
“I chopped my hair and JP fixed it,” he said of how he first met Nabozny. “I knew at that moment that I wanted to be a barber.”
Kumfer was also influenced by his godmother, Courtney, who was a hairstylist and his mother’s best friend. Growing up, he went to her house for haircuts.
“I always thought it was supercool that she worked from home. The walls in her hair cutting room were splatter painted and, with everything hung up everywhere, it had a cool vibe,” he said. “I thought there are worse ways to make money in the world, and how nice it would be to work in an air-conditioned room, talking to the customers and cutting hair.”
BUSH AND KUMFER named their barbershop “JJ’s” to honor their fathers, Jay and John. Several members of the Bush family helped get the barbershop up and running, especially Bush’s father and girlfriend, Jadessa Olofson.
Not only is Randolph Bush’s hometown, but it’s also a good, central location between other communities lacking in barbershops. He said there is one in Salamanca and one in Ellicottville, but as far as he knows, there are none in Little Valley or Cattaraugus.
“I decided to set up this shop in Randolph because I had an OK clientele here already, and I figured I’d get downtown where people would see me,” he said.
Bush and Kumfer are still working on completing their sports-themed decor. They will be getting their logo in the window soon, and plan to possibly add a dirt bike and other sports-related items in their two large display windows.
“We’re going to get a dartboard in here and maybe a shuffleboard table, so it’ll be a cool little hangout spot while people are waiting for a haircut,” Bush said. “We have a coffee bar and snacks. We always have cookies.”
Business hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information or to make an appointment, call (716) 518-6777.
