Gold Winner Phat Luong, Phat’s Barber Shop
Silver Winner Clifford MacKay, King's Krown
Bronze Winner Leroy Bennett, Bennett’s Barbershop
Sixteen bucks. No appointments, no shampoos. It’s just Phat Luong, armed with scissors, clippers and personality, offering a humble service. Like it says on the sign in the small Windsor Street shop: The best lousy haircut in town. That sign keeps his legal bills down, Luong says: “If I give them a bad haircut, they cannot sue me.” Far from complaining, Luong’s customers are clearly happy, voting him to yet another Best of Halifax gold placing as surely as they return for a trim. One afternoon, the next person in the chair is a young professional from out of town, who times his haircuts with his sporadic trips to Halifax. “There’s a zillion places I can go in Toronto,” he says. “But there’s something about this place.”