
Even More Classic: The Classic Man at the Meadows now has a barber shop
Tony Brewer Sr. has made the most of his small business grant from the United Way of the Wabash Valley.
MET 041025 CLASSIC BARBER BREWERS FRONT
As the barber pole spins above them, Classic Man Fine Men's Clothing Store owner Tony Brewer, Sr. and his brother and barber, Teddy Brewer, pose for a photo in front of the new Classic Man Cuts barber shop Thursday in the Meadows Shopping Center.
In December, UWWV distributed $1.5 million to 26 small-business owners, including Brewer's Classic Man Fine Men's Clothing Store in the Meadow Shopping Center, which received $98,000 for sales training and store expansion, including the addition of a barber shop.
'That grant has really sped up our progress as far as expansion,' Brewer said. 'We're looking forward to the opportunities that are forthcoming.'
The new and improved Classic Man is celebrating its grand reopening Saturday.
Brewer, who's owned Classic Man for just more than seven years, expanded his store to a vacant space adjacent to his, and transformed his original retail outlet into a barber shop.
His brother Teddy, who has been cutting hair for more than 30 years, mans the barber shop, and Tony's in negotiations with another barber. Though the shop doesn't have firm hours of operation yet, as he hires more barbers, the hours will expand. During its soft opening this past week, it saw a number of walk-ins.
'A lot of people are looking for barbers,' Brewer said.
'There is a need for Black barber shops,' Teddy added. 'There's a demand.'
Teddy said that he and his brother were sort of inspired by one another to expand with the barber shop.
MET 041025 CLASSIC BARBER 02
The Classic Man Cuts Barber Teddy Brewer cuts customer Terry McGee's hair Thursday in the new barber shop that is part of the Classic Man Fine Men's Clothing Store in the Meadows Shopping Center.
'He supported that I was a barber, and I think I proved that I was serious about it and he took a chance on me to expand,' he said. 'We could've used the space for just clothing.'
Tony and Teddy have installed an old-fashioned barber pole outside the shop that Teddy found online.
'The barber shop pole has sparked a lot of interest,' Tony said. 'For the older generation, that really meant something to them. People say, 'It's good to see one of those — it brings back memories.' A couple said, 'It made me want to get a haircut.' It's doing its job already,' he added with a laugh.
More furniture will be coming to the barber shop — a table and a couple of chairs to lounge in.
'We want this to be kind of a social magnet where people can come in have a positive place to hang out and talk,' Tony said. 'We have two ground rules — stay away from politics and religion. We don't want it tense in here.'
It couldn't get too tense, given the gracious presence of the brothers' mother, Denise Gard, who is always ready with a friendly greeting for patrons.
'You see my mother — that was the environment we were raised in,' Tony said. 'She taught us about kindness and treating people the way they want to be treated.
'I tell everybody, 'I'm the boss, but she's in charge.''
Tony lived in Indianapolis for a while and took notice of the more professional way those around him dressed.
'I started dressing a little better, and seeing there was a need in Terre Haute to do that, to dress without going to the big-box store,' he said. 'I try to represent more of a moderate look of what people wear here — more conservative colors, more conservative styles. But those who come in who want something a little more flashy, we carry that also.'
Men's suits at Classic Man are reasonably priced, generally between $140 and $180. It's not easy finding quality inexpensive clothing, Tony said.
'That's an ongoing process,' he said. 'I'm still getting new providers of suits. I'm a small market, so I can't get some suit companies because I can't make the minimum $10,000 order. I have to be more picky and choosy about the suits I can get in my store.'
Brewer's grant also allowed him to purchase a sign for the exterior of the Meadows Shopping Center, replacing the Ace Blinds
'We were going to do it eventually,' he said, 'but the grant allowed us to speed the process up.'
Brewer will be dressing two men for a complete makeover for the upcoming Wabash Valley Recovery Center's Recovery is Beautiful gala April 19 at the Terre Haute Convention Center. Tickets for the gala and dinner are $100 at bit.ly/3G3MGbv.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Springfield seeks to boost economic sustainability for Mason Square families
SPRINGFIELD – The city will join a national effort to help residents of Mason Square become financially stronger. Springfield was selected to participate in the CityStart initiative through August 2026. The program, designed by Cities for Financial Empowerment, will provide a $100,000 grant and technical assistance, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced in writing. Sarno said the grant will provide access to 'opportunities for economic growth, with a specific focus on improving wealth equity for the Black community,' the statement said. The grant includes help with research, planning and engagement. Participants will shape plans to serve families over generations, the statement said. 'Financial empowerment is a critical component of building a strong and resilient community,' said Tim Sheehan, Chief Development Officer. 'With the support of the CityStart grant, Springfield will be able to develop targeted strategies that directly address the financial challenges faced by our residents.' Read the original article on MassLive.

Hypebeast
3 hours ago
- Hypebeast
NFL Explores Foreign Team Ownership, Says Ex-Commanders President
Summary TheNational Football League (NFL)is reportedly on the cusp of opening its doors to foreign investment in team ownership, according to Jason Wright, the former president of theWashington Commanders. Speaking on a sports business panel last week at Gabelli Funds' annual Media & Sports Symposium in New York, Wrightstatedthat his 'experience in NFL circles suggests the league is close to opening itself up to foreign investment.' While sovereign wealth funds from regions like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have already taken significant stakes in global sports like soccer, golf, and auto racing, major U.S. leagues have historically resisted such direct foreign ownership. However, with the NFL's continued business surge and its ambition for international expansion, Wright sees the diversification of its money pool as an 'inevitability.' Wright explained that the NFL, being a 'slower mover,' will likely 'test the waters' initially through large-scale 'partnership deals with companies and brands that we know foreign governments are behind and supporting.' He suggested that once these significant sponsorships, such as naming rights deals at the team level or marquee league partnerships, start emerging, it will signal a direct investment from foreign entities is on the horizon. These discussions, he revealed, 'have been happening in the background.' Wright, who served as the first Black president of an NFL franchise from 2020 to 2024, emphasized that smaller leagues might see sovereign investment more directly first due to greater need, but the NFL's move is a matter of when, not if. This shift could significantly impact the financial landscape of the league, potentially unlocking new capital for team operations and further international growth.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Johnson & Johnson denies engaging in illegal DEI practices after group makes civil rights complaint
Johnson & Johnson is denying any wrongdoing after being accused of violating federal law and a Trump executive order with DEI hiring practices, according to an investigation request submitted by America First Legal (AFL). "Johnson & Johnson has always been and will continue to be compliant with all applicable laws and has never engaged in any "illegal DEI,'" a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told Fox News Digital. AFL is accusing Johnson & Johnson of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the federal government's Equal Opportunity Clause by engaging in what they claim is unlawful hiring and employment practices that they have openly promoted in past disclosures. The conservative legal watchdog is calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to launch an investigation into the drugmaker, claiming the company's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion violates federal law and affects every aspect of the business. 'Woke' Hospital Could Be In Crosshairs Of Trump Admin After Scathing Complaint Alleges Dei Discrimination "[Johnson & Johnson's] public representations regarding the role of 'equity' in its employment practices reveal that it systematically and intentionally ignores its compliance obligations and instead violates [their] equal opportunity assurances to the federal government," AFL wrote in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights. Read On The Fox News App According to Johnson & Johnson's 2023 Health for Humanity Report, the company sought to have 50% of its management positions held by women and 6.8% of management slots held by Black and African American employees by 2025 as part of its "aspirational goals." The report pointed to its progress in achieving 49% women representation and 6.5% Black and African American representation in management slots as of 2023. "The Company's disregard for American civil rights is brazen. It boasts about 'creating equity across our systems and fostering and advancing a culture of inclusion,'" the AFL complaint said. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture A LinkedIn business post entitled "How Johnson & Johnson is building a diverse talent pipeline" claimed that the pharmaceutical giant uses data to monitor its talent goals and holds leaders in the company accountable to them. The article claims the diversity of the talent pool they are recruiting from is tracked as part of this data. "One of the measures we are starting to look at is, not just the readiness of the pipeline… but what does the diversity of that mix look like? In order to provide a score or an assessment of the strength of the pipeline," Johnson & Johnson executive Sarah McKensey said in a video interview that accompanied the article. The article said the purpose of providing such an assessment on the talent pipeline was to ensure that diversity becomes "a natural feature of the hiring landscape" and said the company also holds external recruiters accountable for the diversity of their talent pool. Johnson & Johnson's 2023 DEI Impact Report stated that its leaders are responsible for developing "diverse and inclusive teams" and its 2023 health and humanity report detailed how the company would partner with women's professional associations in order to achieve "parity" in management. Johnson & Johnson had 3,719 contracts in 2024 with the departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and other agencies, according to with $11.6 billion in potential total value. Upon taking office in 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning federal agencies from doing business with companies that engage in discriminatory DEI practices. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 says that "An unlawful employment or other hiring practice exists when race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is a motivating factor for any employment decision." Federal regulations state that federal agencies can cut off contracts from outfits that are not in compliance with the Civil Rights Act. The AFL claims the Biden administration shirked its responsibility to investigate whether companies in the medical space were in violation of the civil rights act, and is urging the Trump administration to act now. The company appears to have removed most of its DEI-related content from its public-facing website since Trump took office. The company's former DEI policy landing page, which once stated, "Johnson & Johnson and all its operating companies are committed to workforce diversity, creating equity across our systems, and fostering and advancing a culture of inclusion," now redirects to a more general appendix of ESG policies. The 2023 DEI impact report and the 2023 Health for Humanity report also redirect to the inclusion page. Another DEI landing page has been deleted and replaced with a more tepid "inclusion" page. However, AFL contends that the drugmaker is merely trying to conceal its ongoing DEI violations, and demands a federal investigation to uncover whether it is in compliance with the Civil Rights Act. "Until very recently, Johnson & Johnson proudly touted DEI policies on its website that AFL believes plainly violated the Civil Rights Act. Institutions across corporate America and academia are now taking steps to rebrand or conceal their unlawful DEI policies in order to evade detection and continue their discriminatory must investigate to determine whether Johnson & Johnson is still engaging in illegal discrimination and violating the Civil Rights Act," AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for article source: Johnson & Johnson denies engaging in illegal DEI practices after group makes civil rights complaint