Carlos Carvana considers every man who comes into his barbershop in downtown Winston-Salem "the commander in chief."
That's why he's calling his swanky new business The Oval Office.
"Everybody is welcome to come in, and everybody is going to be treated like they're the president," Carvana said.
The Oval Office is at 628 W. Fourth St. in the Nash/Bolich Building in the former 4th St. Studio Barber Shop Comedy & Jazz Club space.
There are several downtown barbershops, but Carvana says he believes that the time is right for an upscale grooming establishment for men, especially with all the downtown revitalization efforts under way.
Carvana said he is trying to create a relaxing and family atmosphere in his barbershop and wants The Oval Office to have "an old-school feel, but up to date."
The Oval Office's services include haircuts and styles, old-fashioned razor shaves, massages, facials, manicures and pedicures.
Carvana has even given some of his services presidential and congressional names. For example, there's the Obama haircut, the Senator shave, the Commander in Chief massage, the Richard Nixon facial, and the George Washington brow and body waxing.
His hair-grooming area features oval walls in the front and back with four barber chairs and four plasma TVs positioned to provide the same oval effect.
"The chairs are set up so anywhere you turn, you have a view of a television," he said.
He plans to line his barbershop's walls with photos of U.S. presidents.
Carvana grew up in Winston-Salem, the youngest of nine children. He said he originally had ambitions of being a lawyer or architect but decided to follow in his father's footsteps.
"I used to go to the barbershop with him on Saturdays," Carvana said.
His father, Lawrence Carvana, has been cutting hair for 50 years. He owns a shop at 14th and Cherry streets and helps his son out as a barber at The Oval Office.
Carlos Carvana's brother, Andre Carvana, owns a hair salon on North Avalon Road in Winston-Salem.
After graduating from Winston-Salem Barber School in 1995, Carlos Carvana worked at five different barbershops and hair salons in Winston-Salem, including for his father and brother.
During that time, he started working on the idea for The Oval Office and would ask customers what they wanted in an upscale barbershop for men.
He also visited other upscale barbershops in the country, including The Executive and Grooming Lounge, both in Buckhead, Ga. Mike Gilman, the owner of Grooming Lounge, has his own line of grooming products that are now sold in The Oval Office.
"I got a lot of advice from him," said Carvana, who hopes to have a chain of barbershops one day and his own line of men's grooming products.
The Rev. Stacey Frazier, the pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, has been Carvana's customer for two years. He said that barbers at The Oval Office take their time with haircuts and make certain that they build relationships with their customers.
"I always call the barbershop, a man's country club -- a place where you can go and sit and chat and discuss the issues of the week and the day," he said. "And I see The Oval Office as that country club that people go to once a week, twice a week, every other week or once a month and feel good about themselves."
James Quander, a lawyer in Winston-Salem, has patronized The Oval Office for a month.
"I've been looking for a place like that in Winston-Salem for a long while," Quander said.
"It just suits my needs perfectly. It's upscale but not too upscale."
fdaniel@wsjournal.com
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