Mendenhall said that in 2023, he purchased the Miamisburg building, which includes second-story apartments and ground-floor commercial space. The extensive renovations that followed totaled approximately $30,000, he said.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Mendenhall, who is originally from Brookville, said he left there in 2014 to join the Air Force, then moved to Miamisburg when he got out in 2021 because his sister lives there.
“I really love this city,” he told Dayton Daily News. “I’ve been going to downtown all the time, and I’ve always wanted to buy real estate, (so) when it came for sale a couple years ago, it just made sense.”
Mendenhall said he met Khaliel Dailey when the latter worked at a restaurant in the Oregon District and was attending barber college.
“Once I bought the building, he used to talk to me about how he wanted to open up a (barbershop), and it just so happened that I had a building where I just didn’t have a tenant,” he said. “I realized that his work ethic was amazing, and I trusted him a lot, and it just seemed to make sense to kind of go all in with him and start something like this.”
Dailey said he sees the business as a form of redemption.
“I changed my life completely five years ago,” he said. “I quit drinking and I’ve been raising my 9-year-old son by myself for five years now and I just want to show people that it’s possible to do stuff like this.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Night Owl Barber Company will offer various services, including fades, haircuts, gentleman’s haircuts, face shaves, beards and trims, Dailey said.
Hours of operation will be 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
A food and coat drive is planned for the barbershop’s opening day, Saturday, Dec. 13, and will include a deejay. “People can donate canned goods or winter jackets and get a free haircut” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mendenhall said. All donations will go to Bogg Ministries, he said.
Dailey said the business will aim to create a warm, family-friendly atmosphere.
“It’s a spot where people can come and hang out and just feel welcome and be a part of something, (and) I can be a part of a community and kind of give back what I’ve been given.”
The barbershop will initially feature three chairs, but will eventually be expanded.
“There’s a capacity for eight chairs total, but we kind of want to grow into it,” Mendenhall said. “We don’t want to have a bunch of empty chairs until we hire more people.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
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