Ashour Kanoun, owner and proprietor of Ashour’s Barber Shop, 545 Green Bay Road, was in between customers at the end of the day when he took time to stop and talk to Pioneer Press about how he got into his chosen career, advice he’d give to his younger self and going out to dinner.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My hometown is in Iraq, in the north of Iraq, and I now live in Chicago. I’ve had my shop at this location for about three and a half years. I was on the other side of the tracks, on Poplar Drive, for about four years before that.
How did you get into the barber business?
Well, since I was a little boy, I liked watching barbers. When my dad used to take us to the barber shop when he got his hair cut, I’d watch how they would cut hair and would want to do the same thing.
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It’s not quite winter, but it’s getting cold. How cold is too cold for you?
I can say that it’s too cold when it’s less than 30 degrees out. After it freezes, it’s too cold!
Do you and your family have any special holiday traditions?
We don’t have anything special like a tradition. But we’ll get together as a family and have fun, though. We always do that.
Do you like going out to restaurants or would you rather eat at home?
Oh, most of the time I like to eat at home. But for special celebrations, I like going out. Today’s my wife’s birthday, for example, and I will take her out to dinner later tonight.
Is there a cause or charity that you’d like people to know about or get involved in?
For now, no, but I am thinking of raising money for cancer research. I’d like to do something like put out a can where you can put a dollar in for every haircut, and the money would go to cancer. I want to start after New Year’s.
If you could give advice to a younger you, what would it be?
Get your education and stay in school. I didn’t finish high school, but I did get my GED online.
Since it’s the season of gift-giving, is there any particular gift you’d like to get this year?
I like electronics. Anything electronic is interesting to me.
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