Mike Alwan opened his barber shop in Lloydminster 11 years ago and has greatly appreciated all the relationships he’s built, and continues to build to this day. Taylor Weaver Meridian Source
Born and raised in Lebanon, Maher Alwan always had a love for barbering, and as a youngster who also had a passion for discovering new countries, Alwan decided to move to Canada 16 years ago to try something new.
Before we go any further, it’s important to note Alwan successfully made the move to Canada, specifically Edmonton, where he met his now-wife and rebranded himself as “Mike” the barber.
“I was in Edmonton cutting hair and someone said ‘Hey Mike, how are you.’ I thought it was a cool name, and it just kinda stuck,” he said.
“Since then, I’ve been known as Mike, and it’s my brand now. If I open another barber shop it’ll be ‘Mike’s Barbershop.’”
Mike’s first barbershop was actually in his home country of Lebanon and he spent his first five years in Canada cutting hair at a shop in Edmonton.
“I worked under someone to save money and go to school, but after I was done school I opened a shop in Spruce Grove,” he said.
“The next move was to Lloyd when I opened the Lloydminster Barber Shop, and it’s been in this same location for 11 years.”
Mike started cutting hair in Lebanon at age 15 and got into it professionally when he was 18. He explained part of the reason Lebanese barbers have such a good reputation is the fact they start cutting hair at a young age.
“Lebanese barbers are so good because we start barbering when we’re 12 or 13 years old, and we grow with it,” he said.
“I went to school for hairstyling in Lebanon and went back to school when I moved here because I had to get a Canadian licence to cut hair,” he said.
“I was cutting hair before, but to be professional you have to go to school, so I went to MC College in Edmonton to get my Canadian certification.”
If you’ve ever sat in Mike’s chair, you know building relationships with clients is something he holds near and dear to his heart.
“Relationships are everything. If you have a good relationship with your customers, they love and respect you, and you have to respect them as well,” he explained.
“Building those relationships is how you build a business. Every customer counts. It doesn’t matter if he’s a judge, a lawyer, or a doctor, you treat them all the same, and I think that’s one of the reasons my customers like me.”
Since moving to Lloyd, Mike has nothing but good to say about his clients and the city where he and his wife raised their two kids in.
“Lloydminster is an amazing city,” he said.
“Customers are very loyal, they’ve supported me since the beginning, and since I opened, I still have those same customers since day one.
“I have a photo of this seven-year-old kid on my Instagram … he’s now 19 years old and still comes here for cuts.”
The Lloydminster Barbershop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and to this day remains a walk-in-only shop.
“I’m busy every day from open to close and most people wait because they know the quality they’re receiving,” he said.
Mike also took the opportunity to do some renovations to his shop during the pandemic, which opened it up and brought much more light in.
The Lloydminster Barbershop is located at 3411 50 Ave.
