Amy Hunn – Floyd’s 99 Barbershop

Amy Hunn was in college at the Art Institute of Colorado and she needed a job. She got one answering phones, scheduling appointments and sweeping hair at an original Floyd’s 99 Barbershop in Denver.

Amy Hunn | Vice President, Construction and Facilities | Floyd’s 99 Barbershop

It’s been more than 18 years since she’s picked up a broom as part of her daily work duties, but she’s still a big part of how Floyd’s does business.

As the vice president, construction and facilities, Hunn is responsible for designing, building and opening new corporate locations for the growing barbershop company, and she assists Floyd’s franchise partners in their buildout process, too. It’s just the role she’s cut out for, she notes.

“When you work with a company for this long, it isn’t a job, it’s a lifestyle,” Hunn says. “I’ve seen the business grow, and I feel so much pride that I have been able to grow with it.”

COVID-19 and construction

Hunn has been faced with challenges not common in the construction industry until recently—namely, how to stay open during a global pandemic. For her, that challenge is even greater because Floyd’s is a high-contact, high-touch company, and many states specifically regulate barbershops and other personal service businesses during COVID-19.

Night time image of the Winter Park, FL location. | Photo credit: Alex Dean

“Once states allowed us to reopen, we had to figure out how to work at a smaller capacity,” Hunn says. “We had to review shop layouts to determine how we meet our service standards and keep everyone safe.”

Floyd’s is following all the guidelines set by state or local municipalities. There’s at least one empty station between clients for social distancing, there are fewer chairs in the waiting area, and everyone wears a mask. There are also temperature checks for staff—and for clients in states that require it.

At Floyd’s, Hunn says her team’s goal is to provide customers a continuity of service no matter which location they visit. Beyond that, driving a strong sense of culture within the organization, especially during a challenging time like the COVID-19 pandemic, is crucial, she notes.

Cutting hair during a pandemic

Roughly 82 of the 126 Floyd’s locations are owned and operated by the company—the remaining stores are franchises owned by nine different groups. All the company’s locations have reopened following a months-long shutdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hunn says she has been front and center as the company planned the re-openings, deciding on everything from how to configure the locations to capacity limits, social distancing and cleaning measures.

Station photo with a few of our team members at our Smoky Hill location in Aurora, CO. | Photo credit: Alex Dean

“The biggest challenge we’re having right now is our capacity limitations, because different states, and even different cities, have different guidelines,” she says. “Getting enough chairs going to meet the service demand from our clients and still providing a safe place for our team and clients has been challenging.”

Working in favor of the businesses, says Hunn, is that the haircutting industry already employs strict guidelines for hygiene and sanitation. Extra measures include more frequent cleaning of high-touch areas like front doors, cash wraps and restrooms. Likewise, stylists and customers are required to wear masks while face shields are optional—Hunn says she knows several employees who prefer wearing both.

Mills location in Orlando, FL. This is another shop that was an old gas station that is owned by our Franchise Partners Kyle and Sarah Sleeth. | Photo credit: Damon Tucci

Each Floyd’s location typically has 12-14 chairs and workstations and right now every other chair is being used. In most locations, the company still isn’t doing any face services, but there are a few spots where a person can get a hot-lather shave or a beard trim if allowed by cities and states. Those services are being provided in a partitioned area of the store to properly distance them from other customers.

“A face shield or protective eyewear is required any time facial services are provided,” Hunn says.

New places to get a haircut

While Hunn has been busy helping the barbers and stylists keep working, she’s also helping plot future growth, something she says isn’t easy with so much uncertainty in the world.

On the corporate side, pre-pandemic expansion plans have been largely put on hold. The company was exploring opening locations in existing markets and Hunn says they will probably start looking again toward the end of this year and the beginning of 2021. It would be late 2021 before any new corporate locations opened.

Silver Lake location. Signs were designed to mimic the retro sign from the prior business that was there for years and had been a staple in the community. Mural is by Jonas Never, a mural artist that we love and has done a number of paintings for us over the years. | Photo credit: Alex Dean

“Luckily, we have some franchise partners that are expanding still, especially our group in Dallas, which has a large footprint in Texas, along with Oklahoma and Arkansas,” she says.

This group opened one location in September and two in October and are looking at new leases for 2021. There’s also a group in Las Vegas that opened its first location this year near the Strip, and there’s another location under construction that’ll open in the next few months. They also have a couple of other sites in the process of being leased for future Floyd’s locations.

Exterior photo of Venice, CA location. Mural by Jonas Never. | Photo credit: Alex Dean

“I think we’ll see continued growth, and it’s exciting to have these locations in the hopper,” Hunn says.

While the locations aren’t owned by the company, Hunn notes that she’s still heavily involved in franchise location construction. She’ll review plans, help review bids and offer guidance and assistance when needed. She makes a site visit about halfway through the construction process—before the drywall is installed—to ensure the work is progressing on time and on budget.

One career, one company

Hunn says spending her entire career at one company wasn’t even a passing thought when she first started, but after more than 18 years she’s happy it’s turned out this way.

When she graduated college in 2004, the owners of the company approached her about joining them as they plotted Floyd’s expansion.

“Even though my degree isn’t specific to construction, I grew up in a hardware store, have had really great mentors over the years and the owners felt like they could trust me,” Hunn says. “I’ve loved working for them and love the company culture.”

When she started, there were three locations open in Colorado and a fourth under construction. Now, there are 126 Floyd’s locations in 14 states.

“I’ve seen us grow from a little company with a few locations in Colorado to a nationwide company, and that’s pretty cool,” Hunn says.