CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Edmund Washington’s goal of running a business of his own is a step closer to reality with the start of demolition to make way for a No Grease! barbershop in Northlake Mall.
That homegrown chain, established more than 20 years ago in east Charlotte, started franchising in 2017. Washington says he’s the first of the brand’s franchisees who’s not a barber — his background is in sales. For his first shop, he’s partnered with Chester Robinson Jr., a barber within the No Grease! system who cuts his own son’s hair.
Washington is targeting a July opening for that location, a roughly 1,000-square-foot space near the Dillard’s at Northlake, which he hopes is just the beginning. And he intends to give back along the way, setting aside a portion of profits to use as grants for aspiring minority business owners.
[Black-owned business spotlight: No Grease Barbershop]
“My goal is to own more locations than Damian and Jermaine Johnson,” he says, referring to the twin brothers behind the No Grease! brand, who operate several corporate-owned shops as well as a barber school.
Read more and check out renderings of the space here.
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