Things can be hectic, sometimes, in downtown Simpsonville — a city that, by all accounts, is changing on an almost daily basis.
But there are those who remember when Simpsonville was a “Where?” sort of place. A dot on a map.
If you’re one of those people and in need of a haircut, Mayfield’s Barber Shop at the intersection of North Main and East Curtis streets will take you back to when Simpsonville was, well, just Simpsonville.
It’s a time-warp, this tiny spot that’s been home to a barbershop since before World War II. There’s a working barber pole out front, two barber chairs and only one barber, Doug Mayfield, the owner/operator. He’s a soft-spoken man who keeps a Bible tucked in among the antique LIFE magazines customers sometimes pluck from the shelves.
If there is a clock here, it’s well-hidden. There are a couple of calendars, though neither have been touched in decades. On one, it’s still Halloween, 1968; the other, Halloween, 1978.
For $1, you can pull an ice-cold coke from the vending machine, circa 1954. “It’s still got the original freon in it,” Mayfield says.
And you know Mayfield’s is open when his 1966 powder-blue Chevy pickup is parked out front.
So it’s safe to assume that Mayfield likes things old — the shop, the truck, the ’60s hits crooning from the speakers in the backroom. They serve to cultivate a vibe that, for many, is a sort of homecoming.
“Customers come in here as much for the memories as the haircut,” he says while giving his only customer at the time, Tim Vicinanza, a neck shave.
Vicinanza, a retired Suffolk County, Long Island police officer, moved to Simpsonville last year. He says he likes it down South. “There’s more faith down here.” He also likes his hair high and tight — the Mayfield’s way.
“Every time I hit the door, it brings back memories,” Vicinanza says.
Mayfield, 54, wasn’t always a barber. For almost 32 years, the Simpsonville native worked inventory control at the Grainger distribution center in Fountain Inn. Cutting hair was a side-gig.
“I finished barber school in 2012 and that’s when I came in here,” he says. “Back then, Mr. Cason owned the shop.” “Mister Cason” is Donnie Cason, who owned the shop from 1960 until he retired in 2017.
After that, Mayfield owned and operated the place part-time until a schedule change at the warehouse in May 2020 forced him to choose: stay at Grainger and give up part-time barbering, or give up Grainger and go full-time as a barber. He chose barber.
He says, sure, he misses his old co-workers.
“But, I’ve never regretted it,” he says. “I like meeting different people. I love working for myself. I unlock the door when I want it unlocked and I lock it when I want it locked.”
He isn’t sure if he’s standing in the oldest barbershop in town, but he also doesn’t know of an older one.
“As a boy, I got haircuts in the same spot I’m cutting hair now,” he says, ticking off the names of those who’ve owned the place before him. There was Whatt Garrett who, by Mayfield’s reckoning, first opened in 1938. Then there was Mister White, then, Mister Cason. And now, him.
“My long-term goal was to own this shop, one day,” he says.
And, as Simpsonville grows, so does demand. “Sometimes, they’re four or five deep in here, waiting on a cut,” he says.
If the waits get too long he may bring in a second barber, he says, half-heartedly.
But one can tell he likes things the way the are — just him, his customers and all those memories.
“I think what happened at Grainger was the Lord’s way of telling me it was time for a change,” he says. “And he’s blessed me ever since.”
If you go:
Mayfield’s Barbershop – 105 N. Main St., Simpsonville
Tuesday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Haircut: $14 (cash only); first-come, first-served
