RED BANK – On February 9, 1964 the local hair-cutting industry was almost clipped for good.
According to Robert Lanfrank, 79, the longtime owner of Cardner’s Barbershop in Red Bank, he knew there was trouble ahead when he flipped on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and saw four mop-topped rockers from Liverpool cause the girls to scream and swoon.
“For a long time guys wanted a clean-cut look because the Yankees and the movie stars did it that way. Elvis was good for business too. But when the Beatles came along, everything changed. Nobody wanted to cut their hair cut anymore,” Lanfrank told The Two River Times in a recent interview.
Lanfrank said his Mechanic Street location was one of 16 borough barbershops when Beatlemania peaked.
“A little while later 12 of those shops closed down for good. The ones that were left, we were lucky. Compared to other towns around here, we had a pretty big population of people in Red
Bank. In
the smaller towns around us like Fair Haven, Oceanport and Little Silver, those
shops closed up too,” Lanfrank said.
Aug. 21 will mark 61 years since Lanfrank put down his roots on Mechanic Street, operating out of two different locations.
His current chair, where he cuts hair, overlooks a lobby lined with classic streetscape photos of Red Bank’s bustling downtown from decades past.
His walls are decked with autographed pictures, including those of battered sports heroes like former New York Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who, in this famous black-and-white frame, is down on his knees with his helmet removed and blood dripping from his forehead.
Another shows the “Bayonne Bleeder,” Chuck Wepner, a former professional boxer whose bloody 1975 marathon bout with Muhammed Ali inspired the Sylvester Stallone film “Rocky.” Wepner was a longtime client of Lanfrank’s.
The decor is a reminder of the lumps Lanfrank has taken over the last six decades in a fluctuating industry. But like the heroes on his walls, the legend of Cardner’s and its owner has endured.
Cardner’s has been on Mechanic Street since 1917. Lanfrank bought the business from its previous owner, Mike Caranuto, in 1958, before purchasing the mixed-use structure at 18 Mechanic St. in 1978. His operation has been there ever since.
“I got my start at Cardner’s through her father,” Lanfrank said, pointing to his wife Tindra, whom he married at 19 years old. She grew up on Mechanic Street. “Her father used to go to Mike to get his cut. But I was going to school.”
Tindra’s father had opted for living room haircuts from his future son-in-law and barber-in-training, a noticeable alteration to his normal haircuts by Caranuto.
“Mike said, ‘When he gets out tell him to come see me.’ I had to cut his son’s hair on a Sunday to pass the test. That’s how I got my first job at Cardner’s,” Lanfrank said.
Since taking ownership of the shop Lanfrank has opened the doors at 6 a.m. for five days a week – minus Wednesdays and Sundays – a start time that has helped him capture the borough’s commuter community, as well as the executive clientele he’s known for.
“I’ve done the mayors, police and fire chiefs, doctors, lawyers, bankers, and I used to do all the business owners in town too. I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years. I remember when Red Bank was all retail. There weren’t any restaurants and bars. They called it Dead Bank. But that’s all changed,” Lanfrank said.
Lanfrank said the change in borough culture has added to his sustainability, coinciding with the idea that his is more than just a place to get a cut and shave. Cardner’s is a community center where you can come for conversation about sports, arts and culture, but most importantly, leave with a hot tip on a new place to eat.
“Restaurants are my thing. Guys who sit in my chair say they can’t leave without finding out where they’re supposed to have dinner this weekend. Their wives won’t let them back in the house if they come home empty-handed. Sometimes people won’t even come in, they’ll just be in a pinch and call the shop to ask me,” Lanfrank said.
Despite six decades of success in the heart of Red Bank’s downtown business district, today, standing in his shop, Lanfrank is taking a deep look back through a lifetime of memories, from a modest upbringing on the borough’s West Side to an institution on the other side of the tracks.
“I never pictured myself doing this,” Lanfrank said. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I just knew college wasn’t for me. My mother suggested I become a barber. Why the heck would I want to become a barber? But I love what I do. I’m proud of what we’ve done here, and what we’ll continue to do.”
This article originally appeared in the August 8-14 print edition of The Two River Times.
