Rob's Chop Shop opens on south side of Square

A longtime barbershop location on the south side of the Holton Square has reopened under new management. 

Rob Snavely has opened Rob’s Chop Shop at 123 W. Fourth St., which was the location of Bob Morgan’s Barbershop for more than 50 years. 

Snavely began working full-time from the shop on Feb. 1. 

For almost three years before that, he was cutting hair in the evenings in a building on the north side of the Square while also working for the city of Holton’s street department during the day. 

“It was time to go all in,” Snavely said, noting that he no longer works for the city. “I was working three nights a week and all day Saturday. When I started school, my daughter was born and I wouldn’t see her from Tuesday to Thursday because of that schedule. So it was time.”

Snavely graduated from B Street Design in Topeka with a degree in cosmetology in the fall of 2011. 

“It took me about two and half years to graduate because I took some time off and was also working full time,” he said.   

He said he had cut hair for some of his buddies who were in the military “once in a while.”

“Driving through town and seeing Bob [Morgan] standing in the window nice and warm or cool in the summer got me thinking about cutting hair full time,” he said. Morgan died at the end of June.

Snavely, a native of Whiting and a 1990 Jackson Heights High School graduate, had worked outside for the city’s street department for 15 years.

Snavely said his degree is in cosmetology since B Street Design did not offer a barber program when he started school.

“The only difference is that I can’t do a straight razor shave,” he said. “I also don’t have a big barber’s pole outside. But people still call me a barber because I’m a guy.” 

He offers basic men’s cuts and welcomes walk-ins. He has also been trained to do women’s hair, as well as children.

“I can do coloring but that’s upon request so we can set up a time and make sure I have the products,” he said. 

Snavely said he’s received advice from area barbers, including Dale Salts and Morgan, before making the career move. 

“I started school when Dale told me he was going to retire because I knew there would be an eventual need in the community,” he said. 

Snavely said he’s learned over the years that there’s more to being a cosmetologist than just cutting hair. 

“I can talk to people for days so I’m good with public relations,” he said. “I’m part therapist and part doctor sometimes. People say their wife is mad at them and they ask me what they should do. I’ve run the gauntlet of topics, but that’s what makes it exciting. No day is exactly like the other one.”

He and his wife, Gretchen, have three children, Trasen, Jaxson and Lola. 

The business is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. He accepts cash and local checks.

For more information, call 785-633-2461.