Lodo Magazine article A LITTLE OFF THE TOP...

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http://www.denver.lodomagazine.com/2011/01/31/hail-king-baby/


Hail To The King, Baby
By Andrew Menefee, Lodo Magazine, January 31st 2011

The concept of a salon for men is an interesting one considering that for generations past, the salon was a place reserved exclusively for women, a place where men did not want to go. Men have barbecues, fast muscle cars, dive bars, and strip clubs. What the Hell do we need salons for? We do not typically receive pedicures or manicures. We do not tan. We do not wax and most of us couldn't care less if our hair were cut with a set of clippers or a machete. However, a group of women in Arvada maintain an alarming cognizance of exactly how to pull men into an institution that has been accepted as being specifically for women since the salon was invented.

Their motto is, “Where Every Man Is King,” and it's printed on every single brochure stacked on the receptionist's counter. You'll be greeted with a smile upon entering by several women in lingerie. The initial experience is a touch surreal, though not much different from Hooters upon reflection. However, the girls at A Little Off The Top are much nicer than Hooters waitresses. The little salon is kept clean and fashionably masculine. The mirrors are framed with dark, stained wood to match the floor. The black leather couches are classy, and the flat screen television in the waiting area plays shows that cater to the male demographic. Services offered range from the standard buzz cut to a full on body massage by the licensed masseuses they keep on their staff. Dianna, one such masseuse, explained to LoDo Magazine that they've really had to make clear the professionalism they cultivate to both customers and the significant women in those customers' lives.

“I've talked to a lot of girlfriends and wives. Sometimes they come in with their men and we'll offer them a pedicure while they wait,” she explained. “We make sure everybody realizes that nothing bad or scandalous is going on, this is just a different kind of salon- one that caters to men.”

There's nothing wrong with a healthy admiration for the female form. Similarly, there's nothing wrong with offering grooming and massage services to men by taking advantage of that admiration. The women at A Little Off The Top are realistic entrepreneurs that know what will get them customers, and the services they offer are things that men should be getting anyway. A man's respect for his appearance is indicative of his respect for himself, and this respect or lack thereof is clear to those around him. At A Little Off The Top, the girls understand that a respectable man is going to want to look sharp, but no man wants to sit down and crack open the latest issue of O! Magazine while he gets his hair cut. So, the girls at A Little Off The Top get a little sexy and hook customers up with hot towel treatment and a shoulder rub as part of the hair cut package.

“We're all like one big family,” says Roberta. “We all work as a team, which is what makes this whole place run so smoothly. We support each other like sisters, and I think even the women that come in here with their husbands and boyfriends pick up on that, and everybody gets along.”


It really is good to be the king, and in a recessionary economic climate, in a country at war, there are precious few places where a man can just kick his feet up for an hour and be a king. There is no better place to do this than A Little Off The Top in Arvada and Aurora. The customer receives nothing but warm smiles and friendliness from the staff. The girls are confident and professional, which means customers should be the same. This isn't a sleazy spot for guys to get their hair cut with a hard on. It's classy, more reminiscent of a vaudeville show (with a whole lot more to offer in the way of practicality) than any sort of sleazy strip club, and the girls that work there deserve a great deal of respect for the innovation behind the idea, the professionalism they display while they work, and the friendliness they show to their customers. So, if you've ever seen an illustration of that Roman guy being fed grapes and fanned with a giant palm leaf, LoDo wants you to know that this is about as close as you're going to get to that fantasy in the twenty first century and there's no more charming a group of young women to make you feel like a king for an hour. So put your feet up, let yourself be pampered by a bunch of girls in their underwear, and enjoy the experience. Hail to the king, baby.