Fountain Hills Barber Shop has a new full-time barber, but he’s a face winter customers will likely recognize. John Virgoni has relocated to the area and, moving forward, his chair will be accepting customers year-round.

Located at 16716 Parkview Ave., Fountain Hills Barber Shop is owned and operated by Dan Margolis. Virgoni has been a seasonal barber at that location for years, and he hopes his clients will be happy to see him sticking around through the summer months moving forward.

Virgoni and his wife, Gale, are originally from Chicago.

“We moved to Fountain Hills in 1991 and lived here for 10 years,” Virgoni said. “In 2001 we moved back to the Midwest, to the Kansas City area. We were there for nearly 20 years before moving back to the Valley.”

During that time Virgoni operated The Great American Barber Shop, which has since been turned over to his son.

The couple lives nearby but hopes to settle back in Fountain Hills soon.

“We missed it here,” Virgoni said. “Frankly, we’ve wanted to come back since we left, but it took a while to work that out.”

Virgoni started barbering in 1978 at a place called The Razor Cut in downtown Chicago. He worked there until 1991, when he and Gale made their first move to Fountain Hills.

In more recent years, while visiting in the winter months, he’d cut hair at Fountain Hills Barber Shop. Margolis said that he would keep an eye on the weather in Kansas and, as soon as the first snow hit, he knew Virgoni would be heading to town soon. Similarly, the first day over 100 in Arizona was usually when he’d head back to Kansas.

“John’s a great barber,” Margolis said. “He’s better than he’d give himself credit for and people love him. He’s my snowbird barber and people always ask for him. I’m excited he’ll be permanent now. He made my day.”

Virgoni has been barbering for about 42 years, though he admits he sort of found his passion for the profession by accident. After high school, he went to junior college and said he never went to class.

“So I didn’t do very well,” he joked. “I was getting a lot of pressure from my mom to do something, so I figured if I went to barber school, that would give me at least a year where she’d be off my back.”

About six months into learning his new profession, Virgoni said he fell in love with it.

“I like the people; the customers and the coworkers,” Virgoni said. “It’s not work to me. I love what I do, absolutely.”

After a while, Virgoni said it became clear that barbering was what he was always meant to do.

“The way I would describe it is, if I was a truck driver, I would really be a barber who also drives a truck,” he said. “If I became a preacher, I’d be a barber who also preached. You know what I’m saying? It’s my perfect fit.”

Virgoni signed on full-time at Fountain Hills Barber Shop in early November and cuts all men’s hair, kids on up to older adults.

“It’s traditional barbering,” Virgoni said. “At The Razor Cut, I was the only American-born barber in that shop. It was six guys, all born in Italy, and on their card it said ‘European-trained masters.’ I got grandfathered into that because they were European and they trained me.”

Virgoni said anyone who sits in his chair can expect prompt service, a clean and friendly atmosphere and a great haircut.

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously either, and people seem to like that,” he added. “It’s good to be back. Twenty years later and Fountain Hills still has that exact same charm. It’s very unique, it’s special, and I’m very excited to be here.”

To schedule an appointment, call Fountain Hills Barber Shop at 480-836-8084.