Salvi’s Barbershop

No, Salvi’s Barbershop in Nonantum isn’t owned by Salvi, not anymore at least. Now its John Mula running the show, and a show is exactly what it is. While folks wait for their turn to sit in John’s chair, conversation whips around the shop as fathers and sons sit in pairs passing life updates.

Salvi’s is built on community. John’s father, an Italian immigrant bought the barbershop and hired his sons turning it to a family business. He kept the shop’s name, Salvi’s, out of “good will,” John explained. Salvi was Italian immigrant himself. “We dont see it around so much today,” but in Nonantum the lines of the street are painted red, white and green for the Italian community it inhabits. The community of the barbershop is a microcosm of the community it centers.

140 Adams St, Newton, MA 02458