Alec Mastrangelo, the barber of Leigh St, celebrates 50 years

Alec Mastrangelo, the barber of Leigh St, celebrates 50 years in business and has no plans to retire. Although, there may be a succession plan in place.

After 50 years in Leigh St, barber Alec Mastrangelo has no plans to retire, but there is a succession plan of sorts in place that could see the next generation take over. One day.

The 76-year-old Alec still enjoys his work too much to quit but his 26-year-old grandson Stefan Fedele could one day continue the family tradition.

“I’ve got to keep going,’’ Alec said as he prepared to host a 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday. “I am very much motivated, I enjoy what I am doing, I’ve got a lot of good people that come here.

“Anyway, if I retire, there’s going to be a lot of people who are going to be very confused, they will have to look for a new barber.’

Grandson Stefan is in no hurry to take over and laughs off suggestions that it’s imminent, but said the shop was part of his growing up years.

“In my holidays I used to come in here once a week,’’ he said.

Alec Mastrangelo who celebrates his 50 year anniversary as a barber on Leigh Street in the city with his grandson Stefan Fedele .Picture Mark Brake

Alec though seems to like the idea. “It’s possible. At the moment he is learning and he is starting to do pretty good.,” he said.

Alec was also 26 when he started the barber shop in Leigh St that has become such an institution in the city. He arrived in Adelaide from the village of Anzano di Puglia in Italy.

His father had persuaded him to become a barber. It rained a lot in that part of Italy and Alec, real name Euplio, decided having an inside job was the best bet.

After a stint in Gouger St, Alec moved to his Leigh St premises. He has been married to wife Michelina, whom he met in Adelaide, for almost 55 years and the couple have four daughters and now eight grandchildren.

He has weathered all the changes in hair styles.

Alec Mastrangelo with father Nicola and brother Michele in 1970.

“When I came in it was short, back and sides only, the end of the ‘70s started the long hair, now it’s like the old days, short, back and sides again.’’

But it’s not just the haircuts that bring people back, and many have been customers for decades. It’s the atmosphere. The back-and-forth between Alec and fellow barbers Rob and Joe, often about football. The cast of colourful characters that can include anyone from judges to the shirtless. It’s one of the few places where cash is still king.

And in the middle of it all Alec is still standing after 50 years.

“I enjoy what I’m doing. That’s the key.’’

Originally published as Alec Mastrangelo, the barber of Leigh St, celebrates 50 years