Meghan Stevens worked more than five years at a high-end barbershop in Kirkland and Issaquah.

But there came a point in her life where the 26-year-old Missouri native was at a crossroads and needed to decide what direction she should take her career.

“I was booked there (Weldon Barber) making top money and I wanted to make more money,” Stevens said. “I was told I could go into management. I didn’t want to be in management, I just wanted to cut hair.”

One day, Stevens and her husband, Jason, visited downtown Port Orchard and discovered a shop for rent — previously home to several barber shops. She wanted to keep the legacy of having a barbershop in the same location since 1915.

“It was at the right place at the right time, I felt,” Stevens said. “Wow, what a great opportunity it would be to come here and be myself, and my own boss.”

Stevens, who opened the parlor about a month ago, said her “classic barbershop” is where a “man can be a man.”

“Some people may think it looks like a salon, but it’s not a salon,” Stevens said. “It has a modern man feeling about it, but still not high priced.”

Stevens offers her clients a hot face or neck towel, shampoo, scalp massage and even shaving with a straightedge razor.

She said some of her clients were surprised she offered hot towels.

“It’s nice for guys to be relaxed every once in a while,” Stevens said. “I think that’s something that has been forgotten about. It’s not spa treatment. Just come in here and relax, get a good haircut and be on your way.”

The shop also offers free coffee and a flat-screen TV tuned into ESPN. She also has several antique straightedge razors and razor straps displayed in her shop.

Stevens was raised and graduated from high school in Scott City, Mo. After graduation, she attended  Southeast Missouri State University, but after three years in college she decided to enroll in barber school.

Her grandmother was a beautician and owned “Peggy’s Beauty Salon” in Scott City.

“I was raised around a beauty shop,” Stevens said. “But my grandmother always told me I didn’t want to be a beautician and I couldn’t make money.”

Stevens said she enjoys barbering, rather than hair styling.

She moved to Washington in 2009 and later met her husband. The couple resides in Puyallup with their 10-month–old boy.

Her barbershop is on Facebook and its number is 253-389-8855.

Stevens said most of her male clients are elderly, but she is hoping more men will find out about her shop through word of mouth, or just stopping by.

“I think my shop is a great place to come and hangout,” Stevens said.