Tucked away between Chestnut and Market Streets, you might easily go through your Penn years and not even know Ranstead Barber Shop exists. The barber shop occupies an unassuming building; except for a small barber pole out front, it is as nondescript as the street it's named for. People who frequent the shop however - whether it's polished Rittenhouse executives and attorneys or Penn students - will tell you that's part of the attraction.
Ranstead's owner and main barber, Lou Cioci, describes it as a "man's barber shop," a place that emphasizes substance and skill over style. It's this down-to-earth attitude that appeals to many of Philadelphia's most elite clientele.
Cioci, who took over Ranstead a little over a year ago, boasts of some of the accomplished coifs he trims. "I cut the Cardinal's hair, someone from GlaxoSmithKline, a lot of attorneys." he trails off. He has his roots in Philadelphia, South Philly to be exact. And over two decades at the Center City Sheraton he garnered a reputation for unpretentious haircutting. His two shops offer a place for those "people [who] just want a barber shop, not a hair salon."
At the same time, while Ranstead Barber Shop may present itself as a strictly old-school establishment, in reality it offers a choice. Ranstead seems to straddle two worlds, the traditional barber shop and the modern one.
When you walk in the door you'll hear oldies playing on the radio. The artwork is a mish mash, the classic dogs playing poker alongside prints for Redken hair products. On a table there's a Stuff stacked atop a Playboy.
Even the barbers themselves represent a dichotomy. There's the seasoned veteran, Lou, chatting up his clients like the old friends they are. And then there's Tanya, a quiet Vietnamese woman who finishes her hair cuts with a short back rub.
Either way, the experience of having a Vietnamese woman expertly applying a straight edge razor to your face while Rick James's "Super Freak" plays in the background doesn't quite conjure up comparisons to your grandfather's barber shop.
That's where Cioci comes in. The barber and jazz trumpetist knows his clients like he knows hair-cutting and the city where he's spent his whole life. Which is to say, it doesn't matter which magazine you're reading or what music is on the radio. Ultimately the tradition that matters most is a quality service offered by genuine people. In that sense, Ranstead Barber Shop is truly old school.
