Missing your favorite shops, restaurants and performance venues? Us too! In this stay-at-home series, we ask local entrepreneurs and creatives about the Star City spots they can’t wait to rediscover once they’re out and about. Here, we talk to barber Chris Fleming, whose personal motto is “Success favors the well-groomed.”
Sometimes it seems like Chris Fleming was born to cut hair. The entrepreneur opened Fleming’s Barber Shop in Vinton in 2018, and he’s worked downtown at Corporate Image Barber Shop since February. But he’s been wielding his blades – and loving it – for much longer.
“I was about fourteen. I remember my mother got me my first pair of clippers, and I fell in love,” says Chris, who grew up in Northwest Roanoke. “Before you know it, my brother and my friends started trusting me to cut their hair.”
He worked through cosmetology school, juggling studies with family and long days at work. Then, in January of 2018, the forklift driver and father took a risk that scared him. “I put in my two weeks at FedEx, jumped out headfirst and went full-time self-employed. I wouldn’t say I’d recommend it to everyone, but if you’ve got that passion and drive, I recommend it. It takes a lot of passion and repetition, getting up, going to cut hair all day, ten hours a day, not giving up.”
These days, though, Chris finds himself at home with his wife and three children – ages seven, six and two – dreaming of the day when he can sip hot tea at his favorite café, take his wife out to dinner at a special restaurant … and go back to doing what he does best.
Here are the Star City spots he can’t wait to revisit.
Right about now, we’re all fantasizing about a return to our favorite restaurants, coffee shops and watering holes. What’s one or two you’ll visit first?
CF: One that pops up in my mind off the top is RND Coffee on Main Street. That’s a spot I visit a lot. I like hot tea – my favorite at home is chamomile – but I like to try different ones when I go out. … I’ll try anything they [owners Steffon and Quincy Randolph] recommend.
Another [restaurant] I was introduced to through Corporate Image was Fortunato. … I’m real big on the white-sauce pizza. That was my first one, and I definitely have to try another… I look forward to me and my wife making a reservation there.
How about events and arts spaces?
CF: I do a lot of grooming services for events – weddings and fashion shows – and I look forward to that. I’ll [also] be checking the calendars for any jazz event.
What’s one thing happening in the community that encourages you right now?
CF: Roanoke County Schools have been very supportive, sending e-mails home to the parents, sending work packets home for the kids …. Man, I thought kids went to school to play and color, but it’s been a lot of work! I’m thankful they continue to learn at home. I [also] like how schools continue to … offer breakfast and lunch for families – I think that was big for the community.
Do you have a local Quarantine Hero — someone who’s made you smile or kept you sane?
CF: Social media has been very, very supportive – clients and new people I’ve met reaching out with encouraging words… I threw up a donation letter asking for dollar donations, and I collected almost $500 … I couldn’t thank the people enough.
Have you picked up any new hobbies or routines during your time at home?
CF: I’m getting older – I’ll be 30 this year – so I’ve been eating healthier, drinking a lot of smoothies… [Another] new thing I’ve been doing with my routine is meditating. Every morning when I wake up, before I grab my phone or check my email or text messages, I’ve been playing some soft music, starting off with ten minutes meditating, and I’m going to increase it. When I come back, I know it’ll be busy, so I want to be full of energy, [so] what I’m learning I can teach the next person, the next stylist.
Keep up with Chris on Facebook, or book an appointment at Corporate Image when stay-at-home orders lift.
About the Writer:
Ashley Wilson Fellers is a writer, educator, self-taught painter and contemplative photographer in Roanoke, Virginia. When she isn’t teaching writing at Virginia Western, she snaps photos of sidewalk cracks, rescues wet leaves from windshield wipers and leaves poems hidden under park benches. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Virginia Tech.
