Good Times Barbershop opens on Hamilton’s west side

Owner Donny Delph, a native Hamiltonian, said he and fellow barber Cody Best offer “all the traditional barbershop stuff,” from fades to traditional haircuts, and straight-razor shaves, which he believes not a lot of shops offer that service, “so it’s kind of nice to be able to provide that for the community.”

But barbering isn’t his first career. After spending 13 years working in an auto body shop ― he still builds motorcycles ― he needed to make a change after his second child was born.

“I was complaining about quality of life,” he said, often complaining about the amount of dust he’d inhale due to the nature of auto body work. “My wife was like, ‘You just need to get out of that (line of work).’”

Barbering wasn’t a stretch for Delph, saying he had thought about it over the years, and, “It’s all like a type of art.”

They want to be more than a local barber, Delph said, who started at Spanky’s Barbershop in Covington, Kentucky, before he met Best when they worked together at Clifton Barbers. “We’re an old-school barber, someplace where you can just come in, hang out and talk with the guys.”

Delph and Best wanted to collaborate on a shop one day. That one day happened a couple of weeks ago.

“We’re similar people and we’re very like-minded,” he said, adding both are at similar stages in life as both are married with kids.

This has been a goal for Delph, who had been looking for a shop for a few years, but really honed in on the search for the past 12 months. He opened Good Times Barbershop just a few weeks ago.

“We’ve been looking on Main Street for a while,” Delph said. “The visibility on this corner was kind of unmatched in this neighborhood.”

Delph started barber school in December 2018, first attending school in Dayton before finishing up in Northern Kentucky. He worked in Covington for a few years before heading to Clifton.

“I felt like it was time,” he said of opening his corner store. “I’ve been a barber now for about six years and felt it was the right timing to open up down here with all the growth that’s been happening.”

The reaction has been positive for Delph and Best, as it’s been “very welcoming,” Delph said about receiving things akin to a housewarming, like gifts, cookies and donuts from neighbors. While they may be a traditional barbershop, Delph and Best don’t serve just male clients, as anyone seeking a short-style haircut is welcome, they said.

Good Times Barbershop, a cash-only shop, is open five days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Appointments are preferred, and can be made at goodtimesbarbers.com, but they do take walk-ins if a chair is available.