Eleventh Street Barber in Astoria won Best Barbershop in the 2017 Readers' Choice contest.

Runner-up: Frank’s Barber Shop, Astoria

Honorable mention: Oly’s Barber Shop, Astoria

The best barbershop, according to Coast Weekend readers, is Eleventh Street Barber, located next to Cargo at 250 Eleventh Street (of course) in Astoria.

Owner Sarah Jane Bardy has been a barber for 10 years and has owned the shop for five. The shop has six barbers. “Every year we’ve been here,” Bardy said, “we’ve added another barber.”

Which speaks well for the quality of haircut you can expect. “We try to be good to our customers, and they’re good to us,” Bardy said. “Our growth just happened; it was all word of mouth. Much of that popular support comes from the military, for whom there are discounts.”

This rapid success led to a problem for Eleventh Street Barber. “It’s a good problem to have, but we’ve solved it,” Bardy said. That would be waits up to 90 minutes.

The solution was three-part. First, serve complimentary Pabst Blue Ribbon beer to those over 21 while they wait. (Under 21? You get a lollipop.) Second, a sign-in board. Scrawl your name on the board, staff will tell you how long the wait will be, and you can spend the time visiting local businesses and pubs (if Pabst isn’t your thing). Third, make sure there are five barbers on duty during the busiest days, Friday and Saturday. In fact, on those days there are more barbers in Eleventh Street than in the rest of Astoria combined.

One of the barbers, Gail Barella, explained how she came to be at Eleventh Street Barber. “I went clam digging with my husband, and we thought it would be awesome to live at the beach,” she said. “Then I saw this place and I knew I wanted to work here, and Sarah gave me the opportunity.”

Barella’s enthusiasm and that of the other barbers is contagious. When you walk in, it is apparent that customers and barbers are having a good time. It’s not just the haircutting — they like hanging out at Eleventh Street Barber.