Tracey Pace has been the owner of Classic Cuts & Shaves Barber Shop for the past 16 years. She originally opened up the shop in August of 2009 on Pedigo Way in Bowling Green, Ky., but relocated to the current place in January of 2012. “The old shop had three different rooms,” Pace said. “You walked in to the waiting area, and on one side there was a room that had one chair in it, and in the other was a room that had two chairs."

Pace is a third generation barber who operates out of a three-seat shop. She works alongside Terry Bryson and Marcus Valera. “You can tell when college kids aren’t in town,” Bryson said. “Business slows down and it’s not as steady when school is in."

Once the shop closes, Pace checks things off her closing list. This includes sweeping, putting combs away, and tallying up how many customers she saw that day. Pace, Bryson, and Valera do their part to keep their area of the shop clean each day.

WKU sophomore, Evan Sexton, stopped by the shop to get his hair cut by Pace. Sexton had visited the shop before, but wanted to try it out for a second time. “I tell my regulars all the time, ‘you're the one that's keeping me in business,’” Pace said. “I mean, I wouldn't be here without them.”

With the barber shop being closed on Sundays and Mondays, Pace can be found in her office catching up on the books and paying bills. Although she came from a line of barbers and cosmetologists, she was originally a dental assistant for 25 years. Eventually experiencing burnout, she decided to go to barber school and knew she wanted to own her own shop.

Old pictures of Pace’s family members sit on display in the office as a reminder of where she came from. “I just want to be the person that my mother tried to raise me to be,” Pace said. “I want the people that were in my mom's life to see me as they saw me when I was with my mama, and I think they do.”

Pace looks through her car window at the Bowling Green Gardens Cemetery, searching for her mother’s grave. Her mother, Joyce Kessinger, passed away in November of 2022. “My mom was even kinder, probably than I feel like I am,” Pace said. “She would open the doors to anybody that needed it.”

After looking through many graves, Pace finds her mother and step-father’s grave. Pace’s mother played an important part in her life. “I think the main thing that my mother instilled in me is kindness,” Pace said. “The only thing that keeps replaying in my mind is that I need to be more like mama. I need. I want to. I want to be the person that she raised me to be and I think I've been pretty successful in that.”

At the end of the day, Pace cleans up her side of the shop and counts the total amount of customers she saw that day. Pace enjoys her job and the connections that have come with it. “I want to work as long as I can,” Pace said. “I don’t see myself retiring any time soon.”

Pace makes sure that every one feels welcomed when they walk through the doors of her barber shop. Whether it’s a first time customer or a regular, Pace greets them the way her parents taught her. “I do what they [mother and father] did,” Pace said. “I try to speak to everybody that walks in the door, whether they sit in my chair or not, and I try to thank them for coming into the shop, whether I cut their hair or not.”

A customer walks out of the barber shop right before it closes for the day. The barbershop closes at 5:00 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. “There’s not much to do at the end of the day,” Pace said. “I usually try to clean as I go throughout the day so I don’t have that much when we close up."