Tim Grafer is the owner of Grafer’s Moonlite Hair on Belmont Avenue in Chicago. He said he finds it fulfilling to put a smile on clients’ faces.
Q: Where did you grow up and go to school?
A: I grew up in Elmwood Park. I went to Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Q: Where did you go to beauty school?
A: I went to European School of Beauty Culture in Des Plaines.
Q: When did you open Moonlite Hair?
A: I’ve been in business for about 33 years. I’ve sold the building a few times to different people and then have gotten it back.
Q: What services do you offer?
A: If there’s one thing I can do in this world, I can cut hair. I can cut hair with boxing gloves on in the dark. Cutting is an art. I feel gifted.
Q: Do you do women’s hair as well?
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A: I do complete family care. I do color and cutting for the entire family. However, we do not do nails at this time.
Q: Why is Moonlite Hair important to you?
A: I was 20 years old when I started. Both of my parents worked here, and since then they’ve passed away. My niece also worked for me. She found a lump under her breast, and she died 10 months later. This business is sentimental to me. It has to work.
Q: What do you like the most about owning your own business?
A: When people walk out my door, they have to have a smile on their face. I like it when people feel good about themselves. That’s my biggest goal. The responses from people are more rewarding to me than if I worked for someone else.
Q: What do you like to do for fun?
A: I am in professional wrestling. I’m in the minor leagues of wrestling. I’ve worked with a lot of famous people, and it’s quite interesting. I could go out there and be someone I could never be in real life.
Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.