Persons of Interest-A Barbering Dynasty at the Heart of Evington Village

For the past 17 years, Jacques Everett has been a familiar face in Evington Village. From his barber’s chair, he has watched the village change, businesses come and go, and generations of customers grow up.

Yet when Jacques left school, barbering was almost the last thing he expected to do.

“I swore blind I’d never cut hair for a living,” he laughs.

Jacques was born in Leicester and grew up near Knighton. He attended St Thomas More School in Knighton before moving on to St Paul’s Evington. After his A levels his original plan was to go to university to study politics and sport.

Then, just a few weeks before university was due to start, he decided to take a year out.

That year turned into a career.

Barbering was already part of the family.  Jacques’s godfather ran a barbershop in Knighton and taught him the trade, while his father was also involved in barbering.  Jacques initially completed three years in the trade before taking another break, this time heading to Greece to work in bars.

“I felt I’d missed a bit of the party lifestyle at university,” he says.

When he returned to Leicester, he spent a year working in a factory to raise enough money to open his own shop.

Seventeen years ago, he found an empty unit in Evington Village that he could afford.

The decision was partly practical and partly personal. He knew the area through his school days and friends, but, importantly, there was no established local barbershop competing for customers and he was not stepping on his Godfather or father’s toes.

“It was an area I knew, without a local barbershop. And it was an empty unit I could afford.”

He has been in the same premises ever since.

Over the years, the shop itself has evolved. Regular customers of a certain age still remember the PlayStation that once occupied a corner. More recently, during Covid lockdown Jacques took the opportunity to give the premises a more mature feel.

But one thing has remained constant: the people.

That is what Jacques enjoys most about barbering. The actual cutting of hair is important, but it is the conversations and the sense of being part of the community that he values.

“I like the people, talking and being part of the community,” he says.

Running a business, however, has another side to it and Jacques admits that paperwork and administration aren’t his favourite tasks, although he handles most of it himself before sending everything to his accountant.

And these days, he has even more to keep him occupied as he now runs two barber shops.

Managing two businesses with only one pair of hands can be challenging, and he is looking to bring in another member of staff to give him more time to concentrate on what he really enjoys, cutting hair.

For Jacques, finding the right person is particularly important. It isn’t simply about employing another barber; it is about finding someone who fits into the village and its community.

Seventeen years in the village have given Jacques a unique perspective on Evington.

He has seen the shops change and noticed changes in the people who live and work there. He believes there is still a strong community spirit, although, like many areas, Evington has its challenges.

He is particularly positive about the village’s independent businesses and the fact that many have survived for years.

“On the whole it must be good, because when you consider the 20 businesses, at least half have probably been here longer or as long as me.”

Businesses such as Bennett’s, Excelsior Carpets and the chip shop have become familiar landmarks, while others have changed names or ownership but continued trading.

For Jacques, that longevity says something about Evington Village as a place to do business.

“It’s a very decent place to do business. For how small it is compared to Oadby, Thurnby or Syston, there is a community feel.”

He is also encouraged by the arrival of new businesses. Eden Café, the coffee shop has become an important part of village life. It has helped restore activity, and Jacques believes any new business occupying one of the village’s empty units can have a positive effect.

“Anything that encourages people to come to the village really.”

He has heard rumours about a possible print shop and other potential new businesses, including a dentist. For Jacques, the exact nature of the business matters less than having another reason for people to visit.

“Any business brings people.”

Jacques is also fortunate to have a supportive landlord.

The shops on his side of the village are owned by the same landlord, who, he says, has always been fair and supportive, particularly during difficult periods such as lockdown.

There is also a degree of protection for existing businesses, with the landlord not allowing another business of the same type to open in an adjacent vacant unit.

For a small independent business, Jacques believes that kind of security can make a real difference.

Family remains an important part of Jacques’s life.

His parents’ families are largely Leicester-based and there are plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins still living in the area. Family gatherings, barbecues and parties remain a regular feature.

His father, however, grew up in London before moving to Hackney as a teenager, while his mother’s side of the family has strong Leicester roots.

There is also a family connection much closer to home.

Jacques’s mother has been running her own business from the same premises for around three years.

He doesn’t mind having his mum working alongside him.

“It keeps me on the straight and narrow,” Jacques jokes.

And, apparently, there is another benefit: she makes sure he gets a cup of tea now and again.

Away from the shop, Jacques is a father of two and admits that family life doesn’t leave him with a huge amount of spare time.

As his children have become teenagers and need a little less of his input, he is considering getting back into football. He doesn’t claim to have played at a particularly high level but would enjoy a midweek kick-about.

He is a Manchester United supporter a choice influenced by growing up in the 1990s, when the club dominated English football.

“I didn’t need much encouragement to follow Man United.”

He still wants to see Leicester City do well, but changing his allegiance isn’t an option.

“You can change your wife, but you can’t change your football team.” He quips.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Jacques, though, is his passion for cooking.

He describes cooking as his “happy place”, particularly at weekends, when there is no pressure to get dinner on the table between homework, bedtime and everything else family life involves.

He enjoys cooking virtually anything, although his Italian family connections mean Italian food is always popular. And growing up in Leicester means he is equally appreciative of a good curry.

For someone who spends his working life talking to people in a barber’s chair, there is something fitting about his description of cooking while listening to music, he sees it as an opportunity simply to enjoy himself.

After 17 years in Evington Village, Jacques Everett has become much more than the man who cuts people’s hair.

He is one of the familiar faces of the village’s independent business community, someone who has watched it change, helped it grow and, like many of its longest-serving traders, become part of its character.

And despite once promising that he would never make barbering his career, it seems Jacques has found exactly where he belongs.