Written 4 weeks ago by Angel Croitor

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You wouldn’t be wrong to assume that salons and barbershops in Dublin are the only ones to offer treats like cupcakes and drinks like beer and whiskeys while you get your service. We’re here to tell you, and possibly excite you, that you needn’t go to the capital to experience this – you simply have to go to Athlone.

Barberstarz in Athlone is run by Jamal Shabir who informs us that they have not only drinks and snacks for kids, such as coke and fanta, but they also serve ice cold beers – what a mouth watering addition to watching the game in store. We’re not just talking ‘the’ game of the day. With three TVs installed in the barbershop you could have a mix of soccer, golf, and horse racing on just to throw an example out there.

“We don’t really give a way a second bottle – we don’t want them to get too hooked onto the drinks then and they’ll take advantage of it and be asking for more and more and more.”

Now surely it costs to get a drink – it has to! Not exactly – they’ll charge you for the fizzy drinks and snacks but they won’t charge you for the alcohol. The law requires that you have a licence to sell alcohol so they’ve come up with a method. You can have a drink on the house while you wait- but you’re limited to one and that’s it understandably.

Usually barbeshops tend to be full of men just wanting to get their cut over with so they can head off and carry on with their day. Jamal assures us that once the lads are given a drink to relax while they wait and they have the game on in the background it provides a better environment for idle chit chat and we believe it’s a conversation starter for sure!

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