Ric’s, the oldest barbershop in General Santos City
Long before the ubiquitous beauty salons and spas became vogue in General Santos City, there was the corner barbershop catering to the grooming needs of the local men (and women).
At that time, crewcut was the “only” acceptable hairstyle for the men and kids like us, and so off we went to our friendly barbers at least once a month with our dad. Every visit then was a squirmy proposition for me, since I was ticklish behind the ears and at the back of my neck, and every time the razor blade touches these parts, i go zonkers.
Despite that, a trip to the neighborshood barber at least once a month became a lifelong habit. Yes, there were times when I’d rather visit the parlorista but most of the time, whether I was in Lahug, Cebu City; Tandag, Surigao; Ipoh, Malaysia or Chiang Mai, Thailand during the later course of my showbiz career, it was always Mr. Barber for me.
During my latest visit to my favorite barber, Nong Abel of Ric’s Barbershop and Massage Clinic along Pioneer Avenue, I decided to ask him about its history in GenSan after noticing from their signboard that the shop was established in 1968.
The other barbers when hearing our conversation, also volunteered additional information.
There are what I gathered:
- Ric’s Barbershop is the oldest standing hair grooming establishment in the city having been established in yes, 1968, making it 40 years old (!).
- In 1968, its old name was Jimmy’s Rendezvous (this word was common then) since its original owner was a certain Mr. Jimmy Gomez.
- Later, the barbershop changed hands from Mr. Gomez to Rolando Caballero, and later, to Ricky Custodio.
- In 1980, it was bought by one of its customers, a Mr. Rodrigo Rivera, who has been a customer since he was the former manager of International Bank of Asia and America (IBAA). Mr. Rivera changed the name to Ric’s Barbershop and gave it to his brother to manage. (Pssst!!! He now owns GenSan’s largest privately-owned company, RD Group of Companies.
) - Right now, Ric’s Barbershop employs three of most senior in the grooming scene in GenSan, namely:
- Frank (who has been cutting hair since 1959);
- Abel (my Dad’s and my suki who has been a barber since 1962);
- Jerry (barber since 1967).
I had so much fun listening to the mini-history lessons from these guys plus a few extra naughty tidbits on some formerly living GenSan personalities (may their souls rest in peace). With all the info I gathered that day, I got more value for the P40 fee I paid for that hair trim, courtesy of Nong Abel of the oldest barbershop in General Santos City.
Ric’s Barbershop is located between Ramon Magsaysay Memorial College and Landbank, Pioneer Avenue, General Santos City. Other than haircut, it now offers hair rebonding, hair relax and ionic hair (!). It also offers Shave, Pedicure, Manicure, Hot Oil, Facial spa, Hair Relax, Massage, ear cleaning, Swedish Massage and Shiatsu Therapy.
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Bariles is a Filipino word for “Tuna”, the primary source of income of the people of General Santos City which hosts 6 of the Philippines’ 8 tuna canneries and more than 80% of its tuna processing plants.
tanchi Says:
thnks sa info sir:)
wala jud ko kblo:)
anyway, pag mapahakan sa una (high school life) diretso daun sa RICS
haha.:)
Posted on December 4th, 2008 at 6:34 PM
bariles Says:
You’re welcome Kristan. Pahak gyud ta tanan! Hehehe!
Posted on December 4th, 2008 at 7:11 PM
anonymouse :) Says:
@Manoy Avel, naglibog ko sa imong gisuwat diri. Is it Ric’s or RD barber shop? ajejeje
Posted on December 4th, 2008 at 7:31 PM
bariles Says:
OOps sorry anonymouse! Memory gap siguro. Thanks for pointing this out. Hehehe!
Posted on December 4th, 2008 at 10:49 PM
rammyboi Says:
nyc info kuya avel.. ako ra man gud na gina agi-agihan before. karon ma appreciate na nako xa kay pwede na pang historical site. ahhaha ^_^
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 12:21 AM
bariles Says:
@rammyboi -
Correct! Historical landmark of Pioneer Avenue.
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 8:49 AM
dimple Says:
yeah.. primi mi gatambay sa atbang ani run.. now at lest may pang dungag ko sa historical trivia sa gensan chatroom..
“whats the oldest barbershop in gensan?” hihi.. nice info..
speaking of oldest.. happy 100th birthday to Lolo eliseo Dulay!.. “Centennial Man of GenSan”
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 11:06 AM
bariles Says:
Happy Birthday lolo!
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 11:27 AM
blackmeat Says:
Kung si Nong Abel na taga-apopong, sya pud ang nagagupit sa ako.. simula elementary hanggang high school.. Ahehe! Kaya always pogipoints ako! Ahahaha!
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 1:00 PM
bariles Says:
Amo gali nga daw bag-o ka bugtaw pirme. Fresh as a newborn baby! Tsk-tsk-tsk. Now i know…
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 1:33 PM
blackmeat Says:
Ahahahaha! Ay nanaway.. Ahehehe!
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 2:22 PM
kyawkyaw Says:
Dili gyud nako na malimtan kay pirmi ra ko ginasunlog sa akoa mga klasmeyts niadtung HS labi nag mapahakan mi… ingon ra sila dretso daw mi sa akoang barbershop… pareho man gud sa akoang pangalan… akoa daw nang barbershop… haaay na lang gyud. anyway suki pod nako na niadto… pero karon nagbag-o na… sa parlor sulod sa kcc na man gyud magpa gupit…
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 2:45 PM
bariles Says:
Hahaha! Thanks for sharing your pleasant childhood memories, Ric. Aircon na man pud ang Ric’s just like the ones at the malls, so ok ra gihapun.
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Rue Ramas Says:
Ric’s Barbershop may be one of the oldest, thriving, progressive barbershop of Gensan… But I would say it is not the oldest…
I was a young girl of 3, (I’m now 61), when there was Mang Joe’s barbershop in Lagao, fronting our house. Mang Joe’s was a typical barbershop, with that swivel barber’s chair, and the posts were red, white, and blue spiral colors, the signature decorative posts of barber shops. There were the usual dama players… I was in college, early 60′s when Mang Joe’s disappeared. I’ll ask what happened then I’ll let you know. Our kanto, Rivera St., was the hub of Lagao civilization then. Beside us was the bowling alley, in front was De Luxe Theater, which later became a cockpit…
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 4:33 PM
bariles Says:
Madame, oldest standing surviving barbershop is what I meant. But thanks for that additional trivia. You have old photos of Mang Joe’s shop?
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 4:54 PM
Kimberly Says:
Kuya Avel… ikaw ang nagdala ke Kenneth dyan!
he was happy with the service… now may loyalist
na ang Ric’s Barber Shop from KL! hehehe!
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 5:18 PM
bariles Says:
Hehehe! Korek! Regards nga raw from Nong Abel.
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 5:21 PM
SleeplessInKL Says:
It would be nice if you could ask them how much they used to charge for haircuts through the years.
In Kuala Lumpur, a haircut in a barber shop would set you back RM8 (P108) for adults and RM5 (P67.50) for kids.
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 5:48 PM
gensanite Says:
@kyawkyaw – @Rue Ramas –
hahaha… damean pud ka, KYAWKYAW, noh? hehehe… “hit” gyud kaayo ang ric’s sa una sa mga damean kung mag-pinahakay ang prefect… hahaha…
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 7:50 PM
bariles Says:
Sure. But as of now, it’s only P30 for students and P40 for adults.
Posted on December 6th, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Kritiko Says:
hahahah ALADIN pla…. cla cla lng na… kabyo kambyo cla mga barbero… tanggal sa RICS adto sa ALAdin tangal sa ALADIn apply sa RICS heheheheh………..ma yabong talaga ang buhok ng mga generals…
Posted on December 6th, 2008 at 1:20 PM
anonymouse :) Says:
@Manoy Avel, palag ang mga sister badingerzie nato. Kanus-a daw nimo ifeature sa imong blog ang oldest thriving progressive and above all, fabuloush gay beauty parlor in gensan, ang (tadaaaaa!): NONOY’s Beauty Parlor? ajejejehhhh
Posted on December 6th, 2008 at 1:56 PM
kyawkyaw Says:
@gensanite – Korek hehehe… NDDC-HS… daghan na prefect naka gunit sa akoang ulo…. gahi man gud heheheh…
Posted on December 6th, 2008 at 1:59 PM
bariles Says:
@anonymouse
-
Hahaha! I was supposed to mention Nonoy, I just forgot. Si Lumer nasa Home for the Aged na daw pala.
Posted on December 6th, 2008 at 2:24 PM
orman Says:
dati si nong abel ang barber namin ni kuya avel – that was the time na ang tailoring shop ni daddy was in arenas building. “sign-chit” lang kami noon coz daddy pays them yata weekly. then nung lumipat na sila sa present location, naging suki ako ni TATA. di na ako pumupunta sa shop nila coz i can always request tata to go to the bank (ibank then aub) para dun ako gupitan. pati mga lalake kong officemates nagpapagupit na rin… ngayong wala na si tata (he moved to his mom’s place outside gensan) si ATO nanaman ang barber ko. even then the memories of RIC’S will forever remain in my heart.
ormans last blog post..no caption
Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 7:24 AM
gensanite Says:
@kyawkyaw –
hahaha… apir gyud ta ani!!! hahaha… basi gani nag-classmate pud ta sa prefect sa una… hahaha… unsa ka nga batch?
Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 11:30 AM
bariles Says:
@orman -
Thanks for the memories my dear bro.
Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 11:39 AM
bariles Says:
@gensanite -
Saw kwawkyaw over the weekend and am sure, judging from his youthful looks, mas bata sya sa iyo. Hehehe! Peace rye!
Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 11:55 AM
kyawkyaw Says:
@gensanite – @bariles – wahhahhaah….. looks lang yun…..alagang “DOVE” kasi hehehe…. batch ’93 ko…
Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 4:19 PM
gensanite Says:
@bariles – @kyawkyaw –
hahaha… “mature” man gud ang akong looks… wahahahaha…
si KUYA AVEL, kay “babyface”… hehehe…
batch 97 ko…
trivia for BARILES:
pag-graduate ni KYAWKYAW ug high school, nag-graduate pud ko sa elementary… hahaha… peace!!!
wala na mi nag-abot sa lagao…
pero sige lang… bagsik gyud ang damean, kay suki sa ric’s… hehehe…
Posted on December 10th, 2008 at 6:28 PM
Jordan Ray Quinco Says:
wahahahahah….. sa Ric’s din ako nagpapagupit when i was in high school up to now.. im 21… hehehhe…. kilala ko din yan sila manong Frank, Abel, and Jerry.. Pati nga si Uncle Bebot.. eheh.. wala na ata xa.. si Tata? diba siya tong pution na Ilonggo na tagaMarbel?… nibalik na man daw sya sa marbel.. hehe.. chismis bah??…
anyways.. nagapagupit pod ko sa Alladin…. and can any of you remember PRINCE baber shop in papaya st. near Kimball Plaza before?…. hahahah.. dun ako nagpapagupit when i was in elementary… i really had a bad experience dun.. hahaha… napahakan ko sa isa ka barbero… and daymn.. grabe kanchaw sa akoang mga classmates sa NDDC-ETD (im batch 2000)… hahaha… i could never forget his face… tapos dahil dun, wala na ko nagpagupit sa Prince… when i was in hiskul (NDDC-IBED batch 2004)… napahakan ko sa PREfect… (Mr. Flores hahahaha)… kato niadto kog Ric’s… pero daghan man kaau nagapagupit tapos it was 7 Pm then. kailangan jud nako magpagupit kay ulaw kaau musulod sa klase na naay pahak! hahahhahah!!!….. nitabok ko sa island sa Pioneer paadto sa Alladin…. luckily, open pa.. and naa pay mugupit…. sus Ginoo!!…. pagbutang na ug TELE TELA (cloth) sa akoa, (katong pangsagang gud sa mga nahulog na buhok)… hastang kuyawa nako.. kay ang barbero, mao tong nagpahak sa akoa sa PRINCE… hahahahah… grabe jud kog simangot sa iya ug bantay2x basi mapahakan na pod ko!!!>.. ahhahahahha….
share lang… ahhahahah….
Posted on February 7th, 2009 at 4:29 PM