Meet the Riverdale barber cutting hair from a van and building a community

In an unassuming white van parked between Mosholu Avenue and Post Road, barber Al Rodriguez has spent six years building a following so loyal, some customers drive hours for a trim.

In the van.

The business, Haircuts to Go, was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rodriguez, 44, was working at a local barbershop when he lost his grandfather to the virus. He felt the shop wasn’t taking proper safety precautions, and he wanted a space of his own. When he realized a van would cost as much as opening a storefront and wouldn’t be at risk of closing if another quarantine hit, his new venture began to take shape.

Born and raised in Norwood, Rodriguez is the son of a beautician. He said he was practically brought up in a salon and, by the time he was 18, Rodriguez was working professionally as a barbershop apprentice. In his mid 20s, he pivoted to owning a furniture store, but a decade later returned to cutting hair.

“I didn’t want to be a jack of all trades, master of none,” he said. “So I’m gonna stick to what I know.”

To get his business on the road, Rodriguez bought a 15-passenger van and gutted it. The floor was ripped up and replaced with gray hardwood, LED lights were installed on the ceiling, a barber station was custom made to fit inside, and a sleek, black chair was placed in the middle. For electricity, he uses lithium batteries.

The van and renovations were a roughly $50,000 investment, which Rodriguez said he will be able to pay off by July with revenue.

Once Haircuts to Go launched, the clientele he built from four years working as a barber in Riverdale came back to him. Using only business cards and word-of-mouth advertising, his days became fully booked.

Rodriguez has about 45 appointments per week. Most take place on Mosholu Avenue, but sometimes he drives to customers in Yonkers who are unable to leave their homes because of disabilities.

Rodriguez said one long-term client suffered from muscular dystrophy. When the man died at 29, his family requested Rodriguez visit the hospital to cut his hair before the funeral. He did it unpaid.

Another customer, Rafael Freire, commutes from Connecticut once every two months to see Rodriguez. Freire lived in Riverdale for eight years— he spent five of them looking for the right barber.

Freire was walking home from breakfast in 2022 when Rodriguez asked from the doorway of the van if he wanted a haircut. Despite the lack of a logo on the vehicle, Freire stepped inside.

Freire said, though he married his wife and moved out of the city three years ago, he didn’t even consider trying to find a new barber, joking Rodriguez was his longest relationship.

“The connection a man has with his barber is very strong,” Freire said. “Once you’ve found a barber, it’s very hard to switch.”

John Rehova, owner of Greystone Coffee on Mosholu Avenue, and his 11-year-old son Andrew have been going to Rodriguez for four years. Rehova said he sees it as a way to get an efficient haircut while supporting a fellow small business.

For Rodriguez, client relationships are built on consistency and trust, no matter the customer’s background.

“I get to meet people from all parts of the world,” he said. “I cut doctors, construction workers, business owners, plumbers, electricians, taxi drivers. Everyone has a story … Every day I learn something.”

As a mobile business, Rodriguez is subject to the weather. After last month’s blizzard, he was unable to park in his regular spot until he dug it out himself. In the summer, he struggles to find a location out of the sun.

After six years of Haircuts to Go, Rodriguez said he is ready for the next step. He plans to open his own local storefront by August, where he can work with other barbers, and eventually expand to multiple businesses to set himself up for retirement. Until then, he is savoring his last few months in the van.

“I like to make people look good,” he said. “You look good, you feel good.”