Meet the Cru

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/07/2021 (1441 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In Oct. 2020, as Old Drovers Run in Niverville slowly expanded adding more tenants to the modern strip mall on the West edge of town, a space sat vacant waiting to be filled.

Jacqueline Petkau and Mitch McLeod, settling into their new home in rural Manitoba after moving to be close to family a year previous, were having a conversation with a friend at neighbouring tenant Negash Coffee when it was revealed the space was yet to have an occupant. A light flickered in the couple’s mind and the pieces of soon-to-be Cru Barber & Co. began to fall into place.

Now, in the midst of the province’s slow reopening some nine months later, the sound of hair clippers and hockey playoffs are buzzing in a salon fit for not only beard trims and hair fades, but a place to have a beer, play a game of pool and catch up with friends over a sports game.

Hailing from Winnipeg, Petkau, 32, and McLeod, 28, came to know each other through the hair industry, meeting at SAINT barbershop, a trendy salon in the Exchange District. Years later, they now own their own.

“Everything just sort of fell in line at the right time,” said Petkau.

With her background in business and McLeod a hair stylist by trade for years, the power couple joined forces to construct the interior of the building themselves after acquiring the space from Niverville developer Ray Dowse. Months of lockdowns were spent filling the bare walls in preparation for a soft opening of the shop.

With an IKEA-esque lounge area, pool table and walls adorned with various sports jerseys, the space nearly represents a trendy bar, not a barbershop. With a licensed space permitted to serve alcohol, the lounge-barbershop model is a rather new concept to both city and rural folk alike. With the modern concept Cru aims to change the typical haircut experience.

“We wanted to make use of this space in a way that our clients would enjoy, but also would bring in more revenue than just the hair,” Petkau said. “It’s a big part of our brand and who we want to be as a business.”

In addition to McLeod servicing clients, the space will employ 3 other barbers will a full array of services including waxing, styling and full-service shaves.

For many young barbers, the dream of owning your own shop often floats around as excess hair falls to the floor during a full day of appointments. For McLeod, owning his own space was his plan the moment he left cosmetology school, and with Petkau to help run the business side of things the puzzle was complete.

The brand they hope to build for themselves is to differentiate from other shops in the region and provide a noteworthy experience, but not in a competitive way.

“Being a part of the business community here is fun, because it’s small enough to feel like you’re making some kind of impact…I at least feel like we’re all kind of in it together, you know, helping grow Niverville. This is somewhere that we’re living and we want to be long term, so seeing it grow is in our best interest for so many reasons beyond just the business.”