{"id":16990,"date":"2025-08-11T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/main-avenue-bids-goodbye-to-tucsons-barber-and-styling\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:03:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:03:32","slug":"main-avenue-bids-goodbye-to-tucsons-barber-and-styling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/main-avenue-bids-goodbye-to-tucsons-barber-and-styling\/","title":{"rendered":"Main Avenue bids goodbye to Tucson\u2019s Barber and Styling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Amador
Amador Tucson, owner of Tucson\u2019s Barber and Styling, is seen in his business on July 29. Tuscon has decided to hang up the scissors after clipping hair for 51 years on Main Avenue in downtown Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

After 51 years in business, Tucson\u2019s Barber and Styling at 1042 Main Ave. is closing on Aug. 18, allowing longtime owner and operator Amador Tucson, 85, to finally lay down his clippers and enter a well-earned retirement.<\/p>\n

Amador has enjoyed a colorful and successful tenure as a barber in Durango, with son Isadore \u201cIzzy\u201d Tucson by his side in the shop for 46 of the shop\u2019s 51 years in operation.<\/p>\n

Tucson\u2019s has seen a steady stream of community members, a few celebrities, and its fair share of gossip in the five-plus decades it has called Main Avenue home. For many Durango residents, Tucson\u2019s, nestled near Carver Brewing Co., has become a staple of comfort and familiarity in the downtown tableau.<\/p>\n

\"Amador
Amador Tucson, owner of Tucsons Barber and Styling, and his son, Izzy Tucson, stand in front of the business on July 29. Amador has decided to hang up the scissors after clipping hair for 51 years on Main Avenue in downtown Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThey call me \u2018The Mayor of Main Street,\u2019\u201d Amador said. \u201cThat\u2019s because they say, \u2018you\u2019re the master of knowing everything \u2013 this place is like an information center.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Amador says his Tucson\u2019s customers have asked him about just about everything while getting their hair cut, from relationship advice to where to find the best Italian food in town.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how many marriages I saved by working here,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amador remembers one of the men he gave advice to coming back to the shop several months later to express gratitude for his guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thanked me for teaching him right from wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cThat almost makes me cry to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amador is not only well known throughout the community for his haircutting services \u2013 sometimes serving celebrities like John Wayne, Michael J. Fox and Aretha Franklin \u2013 and his ownership of the only remaining spinning barber pole in Durango; he\u2019s also made a name for himself through his prolific musical endeavors in town with his band, Tucson y Las Amigos, and through his long-term, deep ties to Durango and its people. According to Izzy, his father was one of the first Southern Ute members to open a business on Main.<\/p>\n

Amador first began cutting his friends\u2019 and family\u2019s hair for fun on Sundays while working in construction, and found he had a talent for it. From there, he made his way to Denver to attend barber school, and eventually opened Tucson\u2019s in Durango in November 1974.<\/p>\n

During Amador\u2019s practical exam at the end of his seven-month tenure at barber school, his teacher told him he was \u201cone hell of a barber\u201d and said he had made his hair cutting subject look like Rock Hudson. He scored a 97 on the exam and never looked back.<\/p>\n

\"Amador
Amador Tucson, owner of Tucson\u2019s Barber and Styling, sits in his business as his son, Izzy Tucson, cuts a customer\u2019s hair on July 29 at 1042 Main Ave. in downtown Durango. After 51 years Amador has decided to retire. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The building Tucson\u2019s is located in has been operating as a barbershop for over 100 years. Amador bought the shop, then called the Silver Dollar Barbershop, from previous owner, John Walden, in 1974 and initially renamed it La Barberia. The shop was renamed again to Tucson\u2019s Barber and Styling in 1980.<\/p>\n

Amador said he and Izzy have had a good time working together at Tucson\u2019s over the past 40-plus years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get along,\u201d Amador said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had no worries, because everything I say is right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Izzy said he\u2019s only been fired by his dad once.<\/p>\n

Izzy worked a few other jobs during the 46 years he\u2019s been in business with his father \u2013 including security guard work and a short-lived dip into the world of onstage haircutting shows for Sally Beauty \u2013 but, much like his father, he always seemed to find his way back to cutting hair at Tucson\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have a purpose,\u201d said Izzy, \u201cand God put me on this Earth to groom his sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Durango\u2019s
Durango\u2019s only spinning barber pole hangs in front of Tucson\u2019s Barber and Styling on July 29. Amador Tucson has decided to hang up the scissors after clipping hair for 51 years and will take home the pole. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Amador said he holds his experiences at Tucson\u2019s, and his conversations with his customers, close, and will miss his daily interactions with patrons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed my customers, because they were so nice,\u201d he said. \u201cThey treated me real good, and I treated them good, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many customers are feeling blue about Tucson\u2019s closing, the father and son duo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say, \u2018oh my god. What are we gonna do?\u2019\u201d Amador said. \u201cI tell them, \u2018don\u2019t worry \u2013 I\u2019ll tell you where to go, and I\u2019ll tell you what to tell them when you\u2019re gonna get your hair cut.\u201d<\/p>\n

Longtime customer John Hill, who has been getting his hair cut by Amador for several decades, called Tucson\u2019s \u201cthe best haircut in town,\u201d and Tucson himself a \u201ctown icon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Hill said he\u2019ll miss the convenience and familiarity of Tucson\u2019s, he\u2019s also happy for Amador and his well-deserved retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll good things must come to an end,\u201d Hill said. \u201cNone of us is getting any younger, that\u2019s for sure. I\u2019m happy for (Amador).\u201d<\/p>\n

Izzy said learning his father was closing the shop for good was an emotional experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I walked in here and saw all the mirrors and things taken down, and my dad said, \u2018someone offered some money for the shop, and I sold it,\u2019 I was devastated,\u201d he said. \u201cI was crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

After some reflection, Izzy understood his dad\u2019s decision, in part from seeing the peace his father has been experiencing since beginning to enter a long-awaited retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201c(My parents) were business partners for a long time,\u201d Izzy said. \u201cNow, after 64 years of marriage, they\u2019re like boyfriend and girlfriend again. My mom\u2019s been retired for 15 years. She\u2019s been waiting for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Amador
Amador Tucson, owner of Tucson\u2019s Barber and Styling, has decided to hang up the scissors after clipping hair for 51 years. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Despite the melancholy that initially came with Tucson\u2019s closing down, Izzy and Amador are both making their peace with moving on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dream is turning the page now,\u201d Izzy said. \u201cThe tears I cry are antifreeze for my heart \u2013 and real men cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I think more about it, I feel I\u2019m going to be barbersick \u2013 that I\u2019m going to miss it,\u201d Amador said. \u201cI got so used to being here at seven o\u2019clock. But I\u2019m happy that I\u2019m going to retire. My wife is going to be happy. (Izzy) is going to be happy, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Tucson\u2019s will be leaving Main Avenue on Aug. 18, its legacy, built up over five decades, will continue to live on in the hearts and minds of its loyal patrons and appreciative visitors.<\/p>\n

And for anyone worrying about the fate of Durango\u2019s only spinning barber pole, take heart: Amador plans to display it proudly in his home to remind him of the value he has brought to Durango, as both a master barber and a longtime community member.<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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