Page 8 - Harnett Life Spring 2019

The spacious waiting
area with barber’s
stations on the left .
On the right grab a
cold drink from the
1940’s refrigerator
while relaxing with a
game of checkers.

hind. Graham said he would know which truck he would was important to Graham that his business name pay hom-
be driving because on the schedule under his name would age to this. He explained that in Scotland, it’s rare to find a
be written “GOOSE.” This was the case often enough that business that is directly named after its owner. Instead, he
one of his co-workers nicknamed him, every time Graham said it’s more common to find a barber shop called ‘The
walked by, saying ‘Here comes the Bearded Goose!’ and Red Stag’ for example, or some other semblance that piques
the name stuck. the potential customer’s interest.

With the barber career still in the back of his mind, Gra- Once again over dinner, Graham and his wife were discuss-
ham was debating on whether to pursue it full time. He ing how to choose the business name. “I need something
said he went to several different shops, “and when I say Scottish, I need something catchy” he said, and it was his
several, on Saturdays I would go to different shops, all wife who pointed out that he already had the perfect name:
over, I was able to hit about a hundred, a hundred and ten Bearded Goose. The 77 comes from Graham’s birth year,
shops in about seven to eight months,” he said, but was and so with this, the Bearded Goose 77 Barber Shop was
unable to find a shop that would be the right fit for him. born. The logo on the wooden signage hanging high out
Discussing it over dinner one night, Graham said his wife over the sidewalk is another detail that Graham said is “true
told him “‘the only way this is going to work for you is if Scottish storefront.”
you open your own barber shop’ and that’s what I did.”
Location selection was another deliberate decision. A busi-
“I’ve been doing this a long, long time, but to do it of- ness like his wouldn’t look right in a strip mall, and of all
ficially I had to get a license, so I had to go to school.” the other areas he considered - Cary, Clinton, Fayetteville,
Graham said. He attended Central Carolina Community Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, and Raleigh - none
College, and graduated from the Barbering program. “I of them had the right feel. Graham said he wanted a down-
could not find a shop that I wanted to put my name on” town spot to highlight the old school theme he’s established,
he said, so now officially licensed, his aim was to create and it doesn’t hurt that, in Dunn, he’s only ten minutes from
a business that he did want his name on, but the dilemma home. “I know these people, I trade with these people; these
was, what would the name actually be? Using his surname people are family now, so why not bring what I want to
would be too simple, Graham said, and his Scottish roots bring - which is so unique - why not bring it to my town.”
are the reason why he didn’t literally put his name on the
shop window. Describing Bearded Goose as unique is truly an understate-
ment. Design and decor, music and furniture, these compo-
Both sides of his family are of fully Scottish descent, so it nents of the business are certainly quite unique, but the va-

Page7 Page 8 Harnett Life ~ Spring 2019