GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Many businesses along Grand Rapids’ Wealthy Street corridor have come and gone, but one Black-owned barbershop that has stood the test of time for more than 50 years.

“It’s like home,” said Steve Butler, sitting in the barber chair at Lady Love by James Price, near the corner of Wealthy Street and Fuller Avenue. Butler has been a client there for over 40 years. “I get cut every week. I gotta be neat. I gotta stay neat,” Butler said.

Butler’s mom was a beautician, so he knows just how much of an impact barber shops and beauty salons have in the African American community. “It’s like a country club for us. We come and talk, laugh, and talk about sports and everything.” He’s had hundreds of these conversations with his barber, James Price. “He’s a great barber,” Butler reflected.

“Barbershop’s very important because, see, that’s the only place people can go to get a hair done as far as a minority is concerned,” Price said. He dreamed of becoming a barber when he was young.

“I started cutting hair when I was almost 10 years old. Used to ride around to different places in our neighborhood to cut different people hair that I knew,” Price said, chuckling as he recalled the memory.

All these decades later, his passion and dedication to the community can still be felt through the conversations he has with the people in his chair.

“Talk about sports, talk about business and about how the economy is and just personal things, you know, so all those type of things that came about far as people sitting in your chair,” Price said. “I have also gave a lot of confidence to a lot of people too, you know, young people. And a lot of young people that come through here, I always try to mentor to them how successful they can be if they put their mind to it.”

“I call him Uncle Price. I can learn a lot from him ’cause he’s been around longer than I’ve been living so he’s got a lot of knowledge,” said Timmy Dickens, who met Price through his father. 

“I love Price. He gives me a lot of motivation, a person to look up to,” Dickens added. “Every time somebody come in here, they got something nice to say about Price.”

Prior to opening Lady Love, Price worked for House of Styles for 14 years. Having been in the space since 1972, he’s seen the area change — for the better and for the worse.

“They called this the ghetto area,” Price recalled. “But then it got good and then it went back and got good and went back. Just kept on doing that until they started doing a lot of development in the area. So it just started getting better.”

He’s dealt with his own share of ups and downs. 

“At one time I had property next door, which was a building with four apartments and a big downstairs area, and it got burned down in 1990. So then after that I just started developing different things in the building,” Price said.

“We ran across racism in our business but then like I said, we just sort of stuck together and just let it overcome,” he added.

Despite the challenges, Price beams with pride for what he calls  his “little enterprise.”

“I was able to raise my family on this business, and things just feel good and I met a lot of people,” he said. It’s like a home to me, this area and I became something like, you might almost call the ‘godfather of the area’ because I was very well known with a lot of people.”

“I always try to keep doing different things to make things better for the Black community.”

He doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. 

“‘Til the most high take me home,” Price said.