Hendersonville barbershop re-opens with support of community after being damaged in tornado

HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A barber is piecing his business together after Saturday’s tornado blew through his building during business hours. 

On Saturday afternoon, customers filled the first level of Hendersonville Barbers. As the tornado got closer, everyone took shelter on the basement level of the building. 

The transformer next to the builder blew through the shop windows, flooding oil and water into the building and damaging original barber shop chairs from the 1940s, along with independent employees’ tools. 

“Everything was just blown out. The roof was ripped open, cars were shattered, live wires were on the ground,” said Jack Lefebvre, co-owner and barber at Hendersonville Barbers. “It was a war zone.”

For owner and barber Steven Lightfoot, the financial impact on his employees’ is the number one focus. 

“The first thing you think of after everyone is alive is that nine of your 17 barbers have produced 16 children under the age of 10 that aren’t going to get a Christmas present,” Lightfoot said. “So Renovation Church cash donations to every barber with kids.” 

The Hendersonville community has rallied around the shop, with a local church donating money to employees so they could afford Christmas this year. Nashville Electric Service is also offering to help clean the oil off the barbershop chairs, and customers were walking in for haircuts the day after the tornado hit. So far, the shop has cut hair for over 30 customers with minimal resources available. 

“Like everything is okay for us because of the [community], and we will pay that back,” Lightfoot said. “The ultimate goal of charity is if you give, you hope that the person you gave to can reach the goal they are trying to obtain, and one day come back and return the favor.”

Now, the business is staying open and robust because of Hendersonville’s support. 

“We named ourselves Hendersonville Barbers for a reason,” Lefebvre said. “You know we are here for the people, you know, and we take that very seriously.”

“What we were back then was because of the people that showed up to get a haircut, and what will be in the future will only be because of the people that got us there,” Lightfoot said. “Thank you.”

At the time of this article, the phones were down and generators were powering the basement floor of the barbershop. Lightfoot said the best thing you can do to help is come in and get your hair cut. The shop is open every day from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

There is also a GoFundMe account set up for the Hendersonville Barbers. Lightfoot told News 2 that all the money would be evenly divided among the barbers.