Dripping Springs’ first bar celebrates 10 years in business

From a sleepy, small town to a hot spot of shops, sips and eats, Dripping Springs has made quite the transformation during the last decade. Now home to dozens of wineries, craft breweries and distilleries, it’s hard to imagine that downtown Drip was once essentially dry.

The Barber Shop, owned by John McIntosh and Dave Niemeyer, came to life in January 2011, waking up Dripping Springs’ historical Mercer Street district. For a decade now, it has provided residents with a place to flock to, to enjoy Texas craft beer and live music. Yes, you read that right. People don’t go to The Barber Shop for haircuts. It’s become a running joke, but you will definitely not find any barbers on tap!

“We just thought that the community needed one of those locals, so to speak,” McIntosh said. “We [Niemeyer] both really like pub culture in England, and we just really felt that those kinds of community gathering spots was something that Dripping was lacking. People would come down here for what they needed and leave. We wanted to do something to revitalize the area, and for awhile it became the only place in Dripping Springs where you could go have a drink after work and listen to live music.”

Nestled on the corner of Mercer St. and San Marcos St., the old building is located in the heart of downtown Dripping Springs. It was in fact a barber shop for many years, but that’s not how it started out in 1924.

According to the brief history listed on its website,The Barber Shop began as “a wooden and tin garage. In 1938, when it was owned by D.W. Crenshaw, it was given its rock exterior. The building served as a garage and gas station until around 1960. After that, it was not used commercially for most of the next 25 years when it was then remodeled and turned into a barber shop.”

When McIntosh and Niemeyer renovated the building, they left up the barber sign because they felt it gave the location charm, and both wanted to preserve the character of the street. “To take down the sign, we would’ve had to apply to do it, and it’s been here since the 80s,” McIntosh said. “Around here if you said The Barber Shop, everyone always knew what you were talking about, so it’s just one of those tongue-in-cheek jokes.”

Over the years, McIntosh says nearly 300 people have come in looking for a haircut, and they know because they used to keep a running list! Nowadays, most people know it’s a bar. During its ten years in business, The Barber Shop has also lent itself a wedding reception and photography location, a place where people hold birthday parties and memorials, and a place where neighbors can check in with neighbors or get respite from work or the many facets of life. Which is exactly the vision McIntosh and Niemeyer had.

The Barber Shop is open and now also serves empanadas and beer to go, live music every Saturday, and hosts the Picker’s circle every Sunday where anyone who sings, or plays an instrument gathers to share tunes. To learn more about the offerings and history, visit barbershopbar.com/.