Blind Barber — Attraction in West Chicago Township

How do I begin. For starters my friends and I didn’t make it passed the front door. It’s crazy how in 2018 an establishment could still be considered racist. I’ll explain. Myself and a group of 5 more individuals decided to give this place a try after seeing the semi decent reviews on here. Take into account I am of Mexican decent and so were the majority of my friends (5 Mexican, 1 African American). We pulled up in our Uber. There’s no one in line, the place looked practically empty from the outside. By the time we reach the door there are two other individuals (of Caucasian decent) , both of which claimed to have more people with them as well. First person goes in and takes their group in no problem. Cool. Next the door man comes out and says to us all; (Including the other Caucasian man waiting in front of us.) “someone above me said that you guys all look too inebriated, sorry but I’m going to have to ask you all to leave.”. I have to admit, this caught me completely off guard, take into account we had all mostly just got out of work. We were legitimately trying to get our night started here and we had literally only been out of our Uber for about 30 seconds at this point. None of us had even touched a single ounce of alcohol at this point. Not sure what looking too inebriated means exactly but I assume it meant we looked like we didn’t belong in that part of town. Next thing, the man in front of us in line told the guy at the door something to his ear and like magic the door man let him in along with his buddies. Not sure what kind of joke he told him but apparently it worked and he was magically not “ looking too inebriated” after all. He went in,no issues. At this point after feeling humiliated and judged off of literally less than 30 seconds of us standing in line and trying to get our night started we walked away. I’ve never felt so harshly treated for literally doing nothing but walking and getting into a line from an Uber. Rest assured this place will never get my business in the future. I would also hope no one else comes here if they plan on having a good time with friends, especially if you are of none Caucasian decent. It’s crazy i even have to specify race in this post but if this place didn’t discriminate as harshly as it did to me and my friends tonight I wouldn’t be here writing this review on a night where I should be out celebrating. Would give this place 0 stars if I had the option. I appreciate anyone and everyone who took the time to read this long hurtful post. I just thing it isn’t right for a place to be profiling people just because of how they look and lying and saying we look “too inebriated”. It’s disgusting to even imagine how many other people they’ve done this too and no one has said anything about it. It’s crazy but I just feel it’s not right. Hope no one else has to ever go through something so...

It pains me to rate this place a 3 because I really wanted to like this barbershop.

The Barber Shop: The space is nice and they use $400 Dyson hairdryers during your service. Sadly they are giving out cookie cutter plain men's haircuts. I was in the chair for about 30 minutes. I saw about 5-7 haircuts leave the barber, each one more plain than the last. Apparently, I chose the barber that was not into any conversation. I like a little conversation with my haircut, but this session had zero. The cut is $45. If this were a good haircut, then that price would be GREAT. However, the cut you will get here is run of the mill. They do give a 20% discount for your first haircut, so if you still want to try this place...give it a shot. With each haircut, they also give you a drink ticket for the speakeasy type bar that is secretly located behind a door that looks like an entrance to a stock room. The drink ticket is worth $13, so that is a great value.

The speakeasy in the back: Love this place! First off, you'll need to walk through a door that looks like you are walking into their stock room. At first it feels uncomfortable, but you get use to it. The drinks are unique, the crowd is mixed, and the bartenders are artisans. If you want an interesting drink and a new experience this place is perfect. $13 a drink isn't my favorite price point, but the bartenders actually put effort into making the drinks. Even the way they make the drink is pretty interesting.

Bottomline: If you don't care too much about your hair, then get it cut here. If you like interesting cocktails, then...

Came here just for the speakeasy during happy hour on a Thursday night. However, I would love to try a haircut with one of their barbers in a future visit. Anyways, the vibes of going from a barbershop to the bar was really cool. As I entered this nondescript door as a walk-in (forgot to make reservations), I was immediately greeted with the really cool mid century speakeasy vibe with tastefully decorated space and dim lighting. The music was at a good volume and just a small groups of people were scattered around. Not too crowded at that time but I was told by the bartenders that things pick up later in the evenings or weekends. However, I just wanted to get a few happy hour drinks and was surprised they had a happy hour special until 7pm. Most places go to 5:30-6pm so I was surprised by the timing. The cocktails looked tasty and the pricing was on par with bars in the area ($15-20) but happy hour was $10 for standard cocktails like old fashions, sours, etc. I went for the old fashion and was delighted but how good it was for the price. I chatted with the bartenders and they were friendly and attentive. Made sure my drinks were topped off and were fast with their service. There was a small food menu but it was typical bar fare from what I remember and I had a side of fries to eat. Overall the vibes were great and definitely come for happy hour again. I’m sure late nights and weekends can be a blast but I enjoyed a super chill place to wind down after work and will come back with...