Syrian Transplant Gives Back To Halifax With Barbershop On Wheels
HALIFAX — While working in Halifax barbershops, Mohammad Alnabelsi realized how hard it was for many people to get a simple haircut. Everyone needs a trim from time to time, but for people with mobility issues it could be burdensome.
During the Covid-19 pandemic especially, he noticed how many people struggled to get to the shop during the harsh winter months in the city.
“After the last phase of Covid when everything opened up again, I saw senior people come into the shop with like their wheelchair, while there’s so much snow,” Alnabelsi told Huddle through a translator.
That’s when the young barber, who arrived in Halifax in 2019 as a refugee from Damascus, Syria, got an idea. What if he could roll a barbershop directly to the customer?
The entrepreneur went to Montreal to buy a large van. He and a friend then spent three weeks in his backyard customizing it into a mobile barbershop. The total investment was $130,000.
The mobile business, simply called “Alnabelsi,” officially launched on November 27 with a small ceremony with friends–and Alnabelsi’s first customers–near the waterfront in downtown Halifax.
The barbershop on wheels will serve the HRM but prices will vary depending on where the customer is located. Just days away from the official launch, Alnabelsi described the rollercoaster of emotions he felt starting his first ever business.
“At first it was a struggle, having the thought of launching my own business, but now I’m much more confident and very excited for it,” he said.
The people of Halifax are excited for this new business as well. Since he started advertising on Facebook, news of Alnabelsi has reached hundreds of comments and shares.
He has also gotten some emotional words of supports from so of his oldest Halifax friends.
“While the war in Syria was raging and people were fleeing, I had the opportunity to meet the kindest family that was living at the Stardust Motel in Bedford in 2019,” gushed one such friend on facebook. “I was waiting for my Thai food takeout. I little girl walked over to me and we tried to communicate. She was around 7. Her parents walked over and then her older brother. We have kept in touch. He worked really hard and now has his own business.”
Alnabelsi says he is amazed at how kind people in the city have been. When asked how he views Halifax after living here three years, he answered while forgoing the use of his translator.
“Halifax is number one for me!”
Anabelsi will be returning the favour of kindness with his new barbershop. Every Wednesday he plans to drive the city and offer free haircuts to homeless people. He also plans to install a wheelchair lift to his van soon.
On top of starting a new business, Alnabelsi’s Halifax family will soon get larger. When he arrived in 2019, he came with his parents, and four siblings. In two weeks, he expects another sister to arrive from Jordan.
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].